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Current  discussions  in 
theology 


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Current  Discussions 
IN  Theology. 


THE  PROFESSORS 


—  OF  — 


CHICAGO  THKOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 


VOLU^IE  YII. 


BOSTON  AND  CHICAGO: 
Congregational  Sunday-School  and  Publishing  Society 

1890 


C"PYRIGH%   18C'0, 
By  CONGRE<tATTONAI.  SrNT>AY-S(HOOL  AN'>  PWBLISHING  SOCIETY. 


PREFACE. 


The  aim  of  these  discussions  is  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion, which  every  earnest  student  of  theologj',  both  theo- 
retical and  practical,  ma}'  well  be  supposed  to  ask  at  the 
end  of  each  year,  viz :  What  has  been  done  in  the  different 
fields  of  sacred  learning  during  the  past  twelve  months, 
and  what  are  the  latest  results  of  such  studies"? 

In  preparing  this  Report  of  Progress,  critical  reference 
has  been  made  to  the  most  recent  literature,  as  a  help,  and 
Ave  trust  a  stimulus,  to  others  who  should  prosecute  their 
studies  further  along  the  lines  indicated,  while  enough  of 
the  results  of  the  latest  investigation  is  given  to  make  the 
work  immediately  profitable  to  the  student. 

In  summing  up  the  labors  of  theologians  and  critics, 
the  natural  drift  of  the  literature  leads  the  Reviewer,  in 
most  departments,  to  dwell  upon  works  that  deviate  some- 
what from  the  familiar  path,  and  in  such  writings  to  notice 
principally  what  seems  to  be  new  and  claims  to  be  better 
than  what  we  already  know ;  for  any  adequate  account  of 
generally  accepted  views,  as  reproduced  in  books  year  by 
year,  is  precluded  by  the  limits  of  the  work  and  by  the 
supposition  that  they  are  already  familiar  to  the  reader. 
Such  considerations,  and  not  any  particular  sympathy  with 
theological  novelties,  explain  the  complexion  of  these  dis- 
cussions, which  may  appear  to  some  as  giving  undue 
prominence  to  radical  teachings  and  criticisms.  Such  con- 


PREFACE. 

sideratious  account,  also,  for  the  many  references  to  works 
of  foreign  origin,  especially  German,  which  appear  in  these 
pages.  If  in  some  departments  Anglo-Saxon  writers  are 
in  the  minority,  the  reason  is  that  they  produce  a  much 
smaller  number  of  books,  and  naturally  less  that  is  new, 
than  do  foreign  authors.  A  further  reason  for  referring^ 
frequently  to  the  results  of  foreign  scholarship  was  the  de- 
sire, cherished  from  the  beginning  of  this  work,that  it  might 
help  many  a  student  or  pastor  to  keep  abreast  of  the  theo- 
logical thought  of  the  age,  who  could  not  readily  read  the 
languages  in  which  many  of  the  works  are  written,  or  who 
might  not  be  able  to  procure  the  books  for  himself. 

We  desire  to  express  our  grateful  appreciation  of  the 
co-operation  of  many  publishers,  both  American  and  Euro- 
pean, who  have  sent  us  their  works  for  notice  in  this 
Annual  Review. 

The  present  volume  of  current  discussions  includes, 
in  general,  the  literature  of  1889,  though,  in  some  cases 
it  notices  books  that  appeared  towards  the  close  of  1888, 
and,  in  a  few  instances,  it  extends  into  1890. 

The  hope  has  been  cherished  for  some  time  that  the 
scope  of  this  work  might  be  widened,  and  that  such  sub- 
jects as  Comparative  Religion,  the  Relation  of  Rehgion 
and  Science,  Christian  Art,  Inter- Denominational  History, 
and  Christian  Ethics  might  receive  separate  and  more  ex- 
tended treatment.  The  realization  of  this  hope  depends 
chiefly  upon  the  favor  of  the  widening  circle  of  students  of 
theological  science  in  America. 

The  Faculty. 
Chicago  Theological  Seminary. 
Chicago,  March  31,   1890. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  FIRST— EXECtETICAL  THEOLOGY. 

I.     OLD  TESTAMENT. 
Peesent  State  of  Old  Testament  Studies. 

PAGE. 

Introductory       4 

CHAPTER  I. 

Old  Testament  Introduction 5-23 

The  Pentateuch.  5-19 

Westplial,  on  Sources  of  Peutateucli         .        .        .        .        5-30 

Harper  and  Green 10-12 

Terry,  Introduction  to  the  Pentateuch    ....  12 

Eiehm,  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament      .        .        .  13-17 

Baudissin,  on  Old  Testament  Priests        ....  17-18 

Strack,  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament.    .        .        .  18-19 

Job 20-21 

Gilbert,  The  Poetry  of  Job 20-21 

The  Song  of  So7igs 21-22 

Griffis,  The  Lily  among  Thorns 21-22 

Joel         ■ 22-23 

Kuenen,  on  Old  Testament  Canon 22-23 

CHAPTER  n. 

Old  Testament  Exegesis 24-32 

Genesis 24-25 

Dods,  on  Creation 24-25 

Samtiel 25-26 

Blaikie,  Commentary  on  I  and  II  Samuel         .        .        .  25-26 

Isaiah 26-27 

Smith,  Commentary 26-27 

Ezekiel  and  The  Minor  Prophets 27-28 

Orelli,  on  Joel,  Jonah,  Zecbariah       .        .        •        .        .  27-28 


vi  CONTEXTS. 

Job 28-29 

Volck,  Commentary  on  Job 28-29 

Ecclesiastes  (Volck) 29 

Solomon  8  Song  and  Lamentations        .....  29-30 

Oettli,  Commentary 29-30 

Chronicles  (Oettli) 30-31 

Ezra  and  Nehemiah  (Oetth) 31 

Ruth  (Oettli) 31 

Esther  (Oettli) 32 

CHAPTER  III. 

Old  Testament  Theology 33-53 

Eiehm 37-45 

Schiiltz 45-49 

Monographs 49-53 

Baethgen,  on  History  of  Semites.              ....  49-50 

Koenig,  History  of  Israel 50-51 

Dalraan,  on  Adonai 52 

Zschokke,  on  Cliokma  Literature 53 


EXEGETICAL  THEOLOGY— Continued. 

II.     NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Present  State  of  New  Testament  Studies. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Philological  and  Textual 57-65 

Grimms  Lexicon 57-58 

Hatch,  Essays  in  Biblical  Greek 59-61 

Resch,  Agrapha  of  Gospels 61-64 

Gregory,  Prolegomena  to  New  Testament        ...  65 
CHAPTER  II. 

New  Testament  Introduction 66-100 

Zahn,  History  of  New  Testament  Canon  .         .        .  68-77 

Pfleiderer,  Urchristentum 77-82 

The  Gospels  (Holtzmann,  Handmann)      ....  82-83 

The  Acts  (Wendt) 84-85 

The  Epistles  (Steck,   Klopper,   Hesse,  Plummer,  Farrar, 

Rendall,  Westcott,  Weiss) 85-94 

The  Apocalypse  (Spitta) .  94-100 


COXTEXTS.  vii 

CHArXEK  II r. 

New  Testament  Exegesis ici-llO 

The  Gospels  (MacEvilly,  Holtzmaun,  Steinmeyer,  Ballan- 

tiue) 101-107 

The  Acts  (Wendt) 107-108 

The  Epistles  (Dods,  Sadler,  Riggs,  Fiiidlay,  Exell,  Weiss, 

Reudall.  Westcott,  Kiioko,  Plimimer,)  ....  108-117 

The  Revelation  (Graham.  Eremita,  West)        .        .        .  117-110 

CHAPTER    IV. 

New  Testament  Histoky.      .......  120-12-4 

Houghton,  on  John  the  Baptist 120 

Delff,  on  Jesus  the  Rabbi  120-121 

Vailing,  Jesus  Christ,  the  Divine  Man  .        .        .  122-123 

Sommer,  The  Apostles"  Decree 123-124 

)  CHAPTER     V. 

New  Testament  Theology  125-131 

Bruce,  The  Kingdom  of  God 125-127 

Everling,  Pauline  Angelology 129-130 

Gunkel,  Pauline  Doctrine  of  the  Holy  Spirit  .        .  130-131 


viii  COXTEXTS. 

PART  SECOND— HISTOEICAL  THEOLOGY. 


Present  State  of  Studies  in  Church  History. 
Introduction,  Origin  of  Christianity 

Sell,  History  of  Christianity 

Eenau,  Origins  of  Christianity  .        .        .        , 


CHAPTER     I. 


The  Early  Church. 


I. 


II. 


III. 


IV 


Y. 


VI. 


VII. 


Spread  of  Christianity 

Eamsay,   on  Christianity  in  Phrygia. 

Tixeront  and  Martin,  on  the  Church  of  Edessa 

La  Ville,  Jews  in  the  West    .... 

Church  and  World  ..... 

Arnold,  Persecution  by  Nero 

Moeller,  Heathen  Culture  and  Christianity 

Reville,  Religion  in  Rome  under  the  Severi 

Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome  in  Recent  Discoveries 

History  of  Doctrine  .... 

Schneider,  The  Apostolic  Century 

Allen.  Early  Christian  Thought 

Purves,  Justin  Martyr 

Schepss,  Priscillianism 

Raich  and  Grassman,  St.  Augustine 

Eirainer,  Ephrem  Syrus 

Organization  of  the  Early  Church 

Withrow,  Form  of  the  Christian  Temple 

Koppel,  Coxe.  Livius,  the  Apostles      . 

Loening,  Church  Constitution     . 

Sanday,  Gore,  Early  Episcopacy 

Allies,  Schwarzlose,  The  Papacy 

History  of  Worship         .... 

Usener,  Festivals.  .... 

Early  Christian  Art         .... 

Wilpert,  Principles  of  Early  Art 

Schultze,  Reply  to  Wilpert 

Morillot,  Use  of  Bells 

History  of  Theological  Literature 

Zockler,  Handbook  of  Theological  Literature 

Harnack,  Wolfflin,  Miodonski,  De  Aleatoribus 


135-140 
135-136 
139-140 


141-189 
141-140 
141-144 
144-14 
145-146 
146-154 
146-148 
148-149 
149-152 
152-154 
154-166 
154-155 
155-157 
157-160 
161-162 
163-165 
165-166 
166-177 
166-167 
167-170 
170-173 
173-175 
175-177 
177-180 
177-18 
180-183 
180-181 
181-182 
182-183 
183-189 
183-184 
184-185 


CONTENTS. 


Bert,  Homilies  of  Aphraates         .        .        .        .        .  185-186 

Harnack,  Acts  of  Martyrs    ......  186-187 

McClffert,  Dialogue  between  a  Christian  and  a  Jew  187-188 

CHAPTEE     II. 


The  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages.     . 

I,     History  of  the  Papacy.  .... 

Freeman,  Patriarchate  of  Pippin 
Diehl,  Dahmen,  Exarchate  and  Gregory  II. 
Friedrich,  Seebcrg,  on  Donation  of  Constantine 
Kohncke,  Wibert  of  Kavenna 
Ehrle,  Council  of  Vienna      .... 
Scheuffgen,  Papal  Schism     .... 

II.     The  Eastern  Church 

Gelzer,  Church  of  Alexandria 

III.  Theological  Thought 

Sell,  Augustiniauism 

Lindsay,  Learning  in  Scotland     . 

IV.  Church  Life 

Penitential  System 

Strumhofel.  Morals  of  Clergy 
Dollinger,  The  Oriental  Question 
Looshorn,  Otto  of  Bamberg 

V.     Monasticism  ...... 

Heer,  Bossert,  Irish  Missionaries 
L"  Huillier,  Life  of  Hugh  of  Cluny     . 
Chevallier,  Life  of  Bernard  of  Clair vaux  . 
VI.     Sects  of  the  Middle  Ages        .... 

Dollinger,  on  Cathari,  etc 

Creighton,  Comba,  Haupt,  The  Waldenses 
Fredericq,  The  Inquisition. 

Villari,  Savonarola 

VII.     Mohammedanism  and  Christianity 

Gorres,  Haroun  al  Rashid  and  Christianity 
CHAPTER  III. 

The  Modern  Church 

I.     The  German  Reformation       .... 
Schaff,  The  German  Reformation 
Sell,  The  Reformation  .... 

Beard,  Martin  Luther  and  the  Reformation 


190-22(1 
190-199 
190-191 
191-192 
192-193 
194-195 
196-198 
198-199 
199-202 
199-202 
202-204 
202-203 
203-204 
204-208 
204-205 
206 

206-207 
207-208 
208-212 
209-210 
210-211 
211-212 
212-219 
212-214 
214-218 
218 

218-219 
219-220 
219-220 

221-266 

221-223 

221 

221-222 

222-223 


COXTEXTS. 


II. 


III. 


IV 


V. 
VI. 


isteriox 


VII. 


VIII. 


IX. 


The  Reformation  in  England 

Hiitton,  Sir  Thomas  More     . 

Alexander,  English  Martyrs. 

Gasquet,  Hendricks,  Henry  VIII  and  Mona 

Protestant  Beneficence,    .... 

Noble,  Protestant  Charities 

The  Huguenots 

Courtisegny,  Number  of  Huguenots  . 
French  Protestant  Schools 
Perreuaud,  French  Protestant  Growth 
The  Christianity  of  Russia    . 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church 
Wolf,  German  Protestants    . 
Ward,  Counter  Reformation 
Leinz,  Marriage  Laws  of  Trent  .         .         .         .         . 

Lea,  Indulgences  in  Spain    ...... 

Beliesheim  (Blair),  Catholic  Church  in  Scotland 
Dollinger  and  Reusch,  Moral  Disputes  in  R.  C.  C'h  . 
Pfleiderer,  Roman  Catholic  Orders      .         .         .         • 
Brecht,  Criminals  in  Catholic  Population 
The  Modern  German  Church  .         .         .         .         . 

Lie  litenberger,  Modern  German  Theology 
Pfleiderer,  Graue,  Frank,  Hermann, Zahn,  Theology 

of  Ritschl 

Delitzsch,  Old  and  New  Theology 

Beyschlag,  Kiibel,  The  German  Church 

Lipsius,  Liberal  Theology    . 

Tlie  Churches  of  Great  Britain. 

Shaw,  English  Presbyterianism  . 

Ward,  The  Oxford  Movement 

Sinclair,  Theology  in  Scotland 

The  American  Churches 

Schatf,  Religious  Freedom  in  America 

Fiske,  Beginnings  of  New  England     . 

Foster,  Eschatology  of  New  England  Divines     . 

Zahn,  History  of  American  Cli'es.  in  19th  Century 

Griffin,  Allen,  Tiffany,  Unitarianism. 


223-225 

223 

223-224 

225 

226-227 

226-227 

227-228 

228 

228-229 

229-230 

230-233 

233-242 

234 

234 

234-23.> 

235-236 

236-238 

238-240 

240-241 

241-242 

242-254 

242-244 

244-250 

250-252 

252-253 

253-254 

254-256 

254-255 

255 

255-25G 

256-266 

256-257 

257-258 

258-260 

260-263 

263-266 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


PART  THIRD— SYSTEMATIC  THEOLOGY. 


Present  State  of  Studies  in  Natural  and  Revealed  THEOLO(iY. 


Present  State  of  Theological  Discussion. 

A.  Public  Discussions. 

1.  The  Congregationalisia 

2.  The  Presbyterians 

B.  Theological  Literature 

1.  Treatises  on  Theoloqy  as  a  System 
Kedney,  Christian  Doctrine 
Nitzscli,  Evangel.   Dogmatik 
Gretillat,  Systematic  Tlieology 
Bruce,  Kingclom  of  God 

2.  Theological  Criticism     . 

StaliJin,  on  Kant,  Lotze  and  Ritschl 
Dreyer,  Undogmat.  Christenthnm 
Unitarianism,  by  different  authors 

3.  Apologetics 

Mead,  Supernatural  Revelation    . 
Clark,  Witnesses  to  Christ     . 

C.  Ethics  ... 
Salter,  Ethical  Religion 


209-282 
270-276 
276-282 

282-320 
282-299' 
283-288 
288-290 
290-296 
296-299 
299-309 
300-30J: 
304-306 
306-309 
309-321 
309-318 
318-321 

321-325 
321-325. 


PART  FOURTH— PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY. 


I.    Present  State  of  Studies  in  Homiletics. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Theoretical  Homiletics— Preaching.  330-344: 

Colloquies  on  Preaching,  Twells 330-335 

History  of  Preaching,  Ker 336-342 

Sermon  Stuff,  McConnell 342-344 

CHAPTER  II. 

Practical  Homiletics— Sermons.  345-374 

Questions  of  the  Ages,  Smith 345 

On  Behalf  of  Belief,  Holland 346-347 


CONTENTS. 


The  House  and  its  Builders,  Cox      .         .        .        . 
The  Pastoral  Epistles,  Plummer       .        .        .        . 
The  Immaueut  God  aud  other  Sermons,  Jackson 
The  Law  of  Liberty  aud  other  Discourses,  Whiton 
Through  Death  to  Life,  Thomas 
The  Threshold  of  Manhood,  Dawson 
The  Gospel  According  to  St.  Paul,  Dykes 
Paul's  Ideal  Church  and  People,  Rowland 
Sermons,  Farrar  .... 

Sermons,  First  Series,  Liddon 
Sermons,  Second  Series,  Liddon 
Sermons,  Magee  .... 

Sermons  and  Addresses,  Manning 
Signs  of  Promise,  Abbott 


348-350 

350-351 

352-354 

354-357 

357-359 

359  360 

361-362 

362-364 

364-365 

366 

367 

367-369 

369-371 

371-374 


PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY— Concluded. 
11.    Present  State  of  Studies  in  Pastoeal  THEOiiOGY. 

The  Call  to  the  Ministry 377-378 

Forming  a  Minister's  Library                   378-379 

Eeforms  in  Funerals 379-380 

A  Congregational  Ritual 381-382 

Religious  Teaching  in  Schools 382-386 

Protestantism  and  Education 386-387 

The  American  Sunday  School 388-389 

Out-of-town  Missions  for  City  Churches        ....  389-390 

Social  Drawing  Rooms      , 390-39^ 

Women  Among  the  Early  Churches 392-395 

Deaconesses  in  America    , 395-396 

Reaching  the  Masses 396-398 

Taxation  of  Church  Property 398-402 


EXEGKTICAL  THEOLOGY. 


OLD   TESTAMENT. 


^        PRESENT  STATE 
or 

OLD    TESTAMENT    STUDIES, 

EEV.  SAMUEL  IVES  CURTISS, 

Pkofes.sor  of  Old  Testament  Literature  and  Interpretation 

IN 

Chicago  Theological  Seminary. 


PHEFATORY  NOTE. 

The  discussion  of  the  Uterature  in  the  Ohl  Testament 
Department  this  year  is  necessarily  hmited  and  incom- 
plete. While  the  writer  was  engaged  in  the  preparation  of 
his  part  of  contributions  to  Current  Discussions  in  The- 
ology his  only  daughter  was  removed  by  death  March  7th. 
This  must  be  his  apology  for  a  briefer  and  less* satisfactory 
treatment  of  the  subject  than  might  otherwise  have  been 
expected.  He  hopes  that  under  these  circumstances  he 
may  receive  the  indulgence,  as  well  as  the  sympathy,  of 
those  who  may  examine  the  following  pages. 


After  the  above  had  been  written  the  sad  intelligence 
was  received  of  the  death  of  Prof.  Franz  Delitzsch,  D.  D., 
of  Leipzig.  He  was  born  Feb.  23d,  1S13,  and  died  March 
4th,  1890.  Through  his  departure  the  department  of  Old 
Testament  literature  loses  one  of  its  brightest  ornaments, 
and  all  who  were  ever  favored  with  his  confidence  a  faith- 
ful friend. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OLD  TESTAMENT  INTRODUCTION. 

The  Pentateuch.  —  The  interest  of  Old  Testament 
scholars  still  continues  to  center  mainly  in  the  criticism 
of  the  Pentateuch.  While  other  parts  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment are  not  neglected,  this  question,  of  the  origin  of  the 
Pentateuch,  from  its  complicated  character  and  the  effect 
which  it  has  upon  our  view  of  the  history  of  Israel  and 
of  Old  Testament  theology,  gives  it  a  prominent  place 
among  Old  Testament  theologians.  There  is  substantial 
unanimity  among  all  continental  critics  with  regard  to  the 
number  of  documents  which  make  up  the  Pentateuch. 
Differences  of  opinion,  however,  exist  with  regard  to  the 
different  recensions  of  each  document  and  their  relative 
dependence  upon  each  other,  as  determined  by  the  time 
when  they  originated. 

The  most  important  contributions,  from  a  conservative 
standpoint,  have  been  furnished  by  some  of  our  American 
theologians,  of  whom  Professor  Green,  who  might  be  con- 
sidered a  worthy  successor  of  Hengstenberg,  stands  in  the 
fore -front. 

An  interesting  work  has  been  produced  by  Alexandre 
Westphal,  Licentiate  of  Theology,^  entitled  "  The  Sources  of 


^It  may  not  be  known  to  some  of  our  readers  that  this  title,  on 
the  continent,  partakes    somewhat  of  the  nature  of  a  degree,  and 


6  OLD  TESTAMEXT  EXEGETICAL  THEOLOGY. 

the  Pentateuch,  a  critical  and  historical  study. ''^  So  far  as 
I  am  aware,  only  the  lirst  volume  has  appeared,  which 
treats  of  the  literary  problem. 

His  standpoint  appears  in  the  preface,  where  he  says : 
"Science  and  faith  are  two  sisters,  like  Martha  and  Mary. 
The  one  receives  the  Master  and  provides  for  His  needs ; 
the  other  adores  in  silence,  and  meditates  at  His  feet. 
Without  Martha,  Jesus  could  not  have  received  the  hospi- 
tality of  Mary;  without  Mary,  Martha  could  not  have 
heard  the  conversation  of  the  Savior.  Doubtless,  the  good 
part  is  for  Mary,  but  if  Martha  is  troubled  it  is  to  retain 
the  Heavenly  guest. 

''  When  Luther  appeared,  applj^ing  to  consciences 
wearied  with  the  yoke  of  men  the  Holy  Book  which  was 
chained  down,  he  held  by  the  hand  the  two  daughters  of 
revelation.  Science  and  Faith ;  strong  in  the  independence 
which  accepted  the  harmony  of  their  two-fold  authority, 
he  said :  '  The  Scripture  is  only  a  servant  of  Christ.  As 
for  me,  I  give  myself  not  to  the  servant  but  to  the  Master, 
Avho  is  also  the  Master  of  the  Word.  He  has  secured  me 
felicity  through  His  death  and  His  resurrection.  Him  I 
possess  and  Him  I  guard.'  "^ 

He  also  quotes  Luther  with  approval  as  saying :  "Even 
if  it  should  be  true  that  the  sacred  writers  have  mingled 
in  the  construction  of  the  sacred  Word  hay  and  wood  with 
pure   gold    and    precious   metal,  the  foundation  does  not 


that  when  conferred  after  a  public  disputation  it  confers  the  right 
of  lecturing  in  the  University  where  it  is  given,  on  the  subject  of 
theology. 

^Les  Sources  du  Pentateuque,  Paris,  1888. 

Ubid.  p.  iv. 


OLD    TESTAMENT    ] XTBODUl'TJOX.  7 

remain  less  immutable,  and  the  tire  of  criticism  consumes 
its  imperfect  elements."^ 

It  will  be  seen  that  his  standpoint  with  reference  to 
the  criticism  of  the  Pentateuch  is  entirely  free,  and  he 
claims  for  Christian  scholars  the  utmost  liberty  of  investi- 
gation as  conducive  to  the  best  interests  of  the  Church. 

The  tirst  volume  is  divided  into  three  parts.  The  first 
treats  of  tradition ;  the  second,  of  the  precursors  of  criti- 
cism; the  third,  of  criticism  itself.  The  latter  is  divided 
into  four  chapters :  The  Documentary  hypothesis ;  The 
Fragmentary  hypothesis ;  The  Supplementary  hypothesis. 
In  the  fourth  chapter,  he  returns  to  the  Documentary  hy- 
pothesis. 

In  his  discussion  of  the  tradition  he  says,  the  first  five 
books  of  the  Bible  have  been  placed  in  the  canon  of  the 
Old  Testament  without  the  name  of  an  author."  These 
first  books  recount  the  birth,  the  life  and  death  of  the  leg- 
islator of  the  Hebrews  in  somewhat  the  same  way  that  the 
first  books  of  the  new  covenant  recount  the  birth,  the  life 
and  the  death  of  the  Savior  of  mankind. 

The  parallel  which  may  be  drawn  is,  that  as  the  Gospels 
are  about  Christ  and  report  His  words,  so  the  Pentateuch 
is  about  Moses  and  gives  an  account  of  his  words ;  although 
the  Pentateuch  does  not  claim  Moses  as  its  author  any 
more  than  the  Gospels  claim  Jesus  Christ  as  their  author. 
There  is  this  difference,  however,  that  certain  writings  in 
the  Pentateuch  are  clearly  assigned  to  Moses,  while  none 
in  the  New  Testament  are  assigned  to  Christ. 


Uhid.  p.  vi. 
Hhid.  p.  1. 


8  OLD    TFSTAJIFXT  EXEGETICAL   THEOLOGY. 

Indeed,  the  position  of  Westplial  and  other  Old  Testa- 
ment critics  with  regard  to  the  traditions  embodied  in  the 
Pentateuch  is  similar  to  that  maintained  b}^  New  Testa- 
ment scholars  with  respect  to  the  traditions  concerning 
('hrist  contained  in  the  fom-  Gospels.  They  consider  that 
the  four  documents  the}^  claim  to  find  in  the  Pentateuch 
are,  as  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  volume,^  blended  to- 
gether in  much  the  same  wa}^  as  our  Gospels  were  in  the 
Diatessaron  of  Tatian. 

And  there  is  the  same  difference  of  opinion  among  the 
critics  of  the  Pentateuch  with  regard  to  the  age  and  hence, 
with  regard  to  the  historical  value  of  these  different  docu- 
ments which  compose  the  Pentateuch,  that  there  is  be- 
tween New  Testament  scholars  with  reference  to  the  his- 
toricity of  the  four  Gospels.  In  certain  ways  the  book  of 
Deuteronomy,  in  its  relation  to  the  documents  found  in  the 
Pentateuch,  may  be  compared  with  the  book  of  John,  in 
respect  to  the  differences  which  it  presents  when  compared 
with  the  other  three  Gospels. 

Westphal  asserts,  in  harmony  with  other  Old  Testa- 
ment critics,  that  the  Pentateuch,  as  has  been  intimated, 
nowhere  clearly  claims  Moses  as  its  author.  The  author- 
ship of  Genesis  is  nowhere  assigned  to  Moses.  In  the 
middle  books  of  the  Pentateuch  it  is  simply  affirmed  that 
Moses  wrote  certain  brief  portions.  The  clearest  claim  which 
seems  to  be  made  for  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  any  one 
book  is  for  that  of  Deuteronomy.  But  on  examination 
Westphal  and  others  argue  that  this  cannot  be  applied  to 
the  whole  book  in  an  absolute  sense,  but,  in  any  case,  only 


^Current  Discussions  in  Theology,  Chicao-o,  1887,  vol.  iv,  p.  28. 


OLD    TESTA^FEXT    fXTRODrcTION.  9 

to  the  legal  part  of  it ;  and  with  this  modification,  that  we 
are  not  to  understand  that  Moses  wrote  all  of  it  in  its 
present  form. 

Westphal  alludes  to  the  fact  that  in  Second  Kings, 
xvii,  13,  which  was  written  during  the  time  of  the  Exile, ^ 
th^  authorship  of  the  Jaw  is  not  assigned  to  Moses,  but  to 
God's  servants,  the  prophets.-^  He  argues  from  this,  as 
well  as  from  Zechariah,  vii,  12,'^  Ezra,  ix,  10-12,  that 
the  belief  in  Moses  as  the  author  of  the  Pentateuch  did 
not  exist  five  centuries  before  Christ.  He  affirms  that  the 
traditional  idea  of  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  the  Pentateuch 
was  not  established  till  a  thousand  years  after  the  death  of 
Moses. ^  In  the  time  of  Philo,  Josephus  and  Christ,  the 
belief  in  the  Mosaic  authorship  was  so  firmly  established 
among  the  Jews  that  any  one  who  might  dare  to  question 
it  was  in  danp-er  of  losing  eternal  blessedness. 


^Les  Sources  da  Pentateuque,  p.  6. 

According  to  all  the  law  wliicli  I  commanded  j- our  fathers,  and 
■which  I  sent  to  you  by  the   hand  of  my  servants  the  prophets." 

=*"Yea  they  made  their  hearts  as  an  adamant  stone,  lest  they 
should  hear  the  law  and  the  words  which  the  Lord  had  sent  b^^  his 
spirit  by  the  hand  of  the  former  prophet." 

*"L'  idee  tradition elle  de  I'origine  mosaique  du  Pentateuque  ne 
fit  done  son  apparition  que  mille  ans,  au  bas  mot,  apres  la  mort  de 
Moise.  Encore  est  ce  d'une  maniere  tres  vague  et  bien  incertaine, 
car  rien  ne  nous  permet  d'identifier  avec  nos  cinq  livres  le  .sv'p/ier 
Wrath  Mosheh  de  Neh.,  viii.,  1.  Tout  nous  portc  a  croire,  au  con- 
traire,  que  dans  cette  designation  la  partie  est  prise  pour  la  tout,  et 
que  le  recueil  des  mitsevoth  prescrits  par  les  prophetes,  dont  Moise 
fut  le  plus  grand,  recoit  ici  le  nom  de  Sepher  Mosheh,  par  la  meme 
raison  que  le  recueil  des  thepMUoth,  composes  pan  les  chantres 
religieux  d'  Israel,  dont  David  fut  le  plus  celebre,  finit par  sappeler 
zd  TOO  Jai^io  dans  le  second  livre  des  Makkabees  (ii.,  13).  Ainsi, 
peu  ti  pen,  toute  prescription  anonyme  devint  loi  de  Moise,  de 
meme  que  tout  chant  anonyme  devint  Psaume  de  David." 


10  OLD    TESTA}[EXT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

In  his  admirable  history  of  Pentateuch  criticism, 
which  takes  up  the  main  part  of  the  work,  while  he  shows 
that  heretics  and  even  Church  Fathers  did  not  always  hold 
consistently  to  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  the  Pentateuch, 
none  were  found  among  the  Jews  who  dared  to  question 
until  the  time  of  a  certain  Isaaq,  who  seems  to  be  the  same 
as  Isaaq  ben  Suleiman,  or  Israeli,  who  is  quoted  by  Ibn 
Ezra,  one  of  the  most  acute  of  the  Jewish  commentators, 
who  expressed  his  speculations  in  regard  to  the  author- 
ship of  the  Pentateuch  in  such  an  obscure  way  that  they 
were  not  understood  by  any  except  the  few  who  were  in 
intellectual  sympathy  with  him.^ 

Westphal  brings  down  his  sketch'of  Pentateuch  criti- 
cism to  the  present  time.  His  work  is  the  most  syste- 
matic, valuable  and  complete  that  the  writer  has  yet  seen. 
In  the  last  part  of  his  book  he  gives  a  portion  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch according  to  the  three  different  authors. 

Pentateuch  criticism  has  for  quite  a  time  been  domes- 
ticated in  America,  and  various  articles  which  have  ap- 
peared in  different  Eeviews  have  showed  that  our  American 
scholars  were  not  wanting  in  the  understanding  of  these 
critical  questions,' or  in  the  ability  to  handle  them. 

The  ablest  and  most  detailed  discussion  of  this  ques- 
tion which  has  yet  found  place  in  our  American  publica- 
tions is  now  going  on  in  Hehraica,  between  Professor 
Harper,  of  Yale  University,  and  Professor  Green,  of  Prince- 
ton Theological  Seminary.  Neither  of  these  debaters  seems 
to  present  anything  essentially  new ;  the  presentation  of 
each,  however,  bears  sufficient  marks  of  individuality. 

^CL  the   writer's  article  in  the  Bihliotheca   Sacra,  Oberlin.  1884, 
p.  6-8. 


()Li>  TicsTAMEyr  ixmoDrcTiny.  ii 

Professor  Harper  fully  accepts  the  moilern  critical 
analysis  of  the  Pentateuch,  although  he  is  far  from  follow- 
ing in  the  footsteps  of  Wellhausen.  His  treatment  of  the 
subject  is  entirely  unrestrained  by  an}^  theological  pre- 
possessions, or  the  fear  of  adverse  criticism ;  at  the  same 
time  his  discussion  is  carried  on  in  a  good  spirit. 

Professor  Green,  as  is  well  known,  is  a  stout  defender 
of  the  traditional  theory  of  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  the 
Pentateuch;  not  because  it  is  traditional,  but  because 
he  believes  that  this  theor}'  can  command  the  most  weighty 
arguments  in  its  favor.  At  the  same  time,  he  confesses 
that  it  seems  to  him  that  the  inferences  which  are  drawn 
b}'  the  critics  from  the  composite  character  of  the  Penta- 
teuch are  subversive  of  the  doctrine  of  inspiration  as 
usually  held  by  our  theologians.  He  is,  therefore,  all  the 
more  earnest  in  seeking  to  overcome  the  positions  taken 
by  the  critics. 

While  he  admits  that  the  analysis  of  Genesis  into  the 
different  documents,  as  indicated  by  the  critics,  might  be 
held  without  disadvantage,  since  Moses  could  be  regarded 
as  having  used  different  documents  in  the  composition  of 
this  book,^  he  stoutly  refuses  to  see  the  evidences  of  such 
documents  in  the  Pentateuch  as  a  whole.  He  denies  that 
there  is    any    difference  in  style  between  the  Elohist  and 


^Cf.  with  this  view  the  theory  of  Astruc,  the  father  of  the  analy- 
sis of  the  Pentateuch,  who  says:  "Moses  had  in  his  liand  ancient 
memoirs  containing  the  history  of  his  ancestors  from. the  creation 
of  the  world;  in  order  to  lose  nothing  he  separated  them  into  bits, 
following  the  facts  which  are  there  related;  he  inserted  these  bits 
entire,  one  after  another,  and  the  Book  of  Genesis  was  formed 
through  this  combination."  See  the  writer's  Sketches  of  Pentateuch 
Crificism,  in  the  Bibliofheca  Sacra,  Oberlin,  18b-i,  p.  680. 


12  OLD   TESTAJIEyr  EXEGETICAL   THEOLOGY. 

Yahvist,  or  that  there  are  any  parallel  accounts.  With 
great  skill  he  smoothes  away  the  difdculties  which  criticism 
has  thrown  upon  the  surface  of  the  Pentateuch.  It  is  a 
question,  however,  whether  the  course  of  the  arguments  as 
gathered  from  various  critics  who  are  substantially  a  unit 
in  regard  to  their  analysis  and  in  regard  to  the  character- 
istics of  these  different  documents  is  fully  met  by  this  mode 
of  argumentation.^ 

There  is,  undoubtedly,  a  danger  in  undermining  any 
views  which  have  been  cherished  for  ages  by  Christ's  dis- 
cij)les.  The  discussion  of  what  seem  to  be  the  founda- 
tions of  our  faith  opens  the  door  for  unbelievers  to  raise 
objections  to  the  genuineness  of  a  Divine  revelation.  While 
we  might  well  wish  to  shield  the  w^eak  and  have  the  ten- 
derest  desire  for  the  welfare  of  Christ's  little  ones,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  Master  Himself  was  not  greatly 


^Prof.  Terry's  Introduction  to  the  Pentatencli  in  the  first  volume  of 
the  Commentary  on  the  Old  Testament,  NeAV  York,  1889,  pp.  5-48,  is  a 
useful  statement  of  the  points  involved  from  a  conservative  stand- 
point. He  says:  1.  "Moses  may  have  employed  amanuenses  to  write 
down  his  own  words,  and  to  arrange,  compile,  and  transcribe  various 
documents  according  to  dictation  and  desire.  It  might  even  be  ad- 
mitted that  he  himself  wrote  not  a  line  of  the  Pentateuch  in  its 
present  form,  and  yet  the  work  is  as  truly  and  genuinely  his  as  the 
epistle  to  the  Romans  is  a  genuine  work  of  Paul 

2.  '  It  is  supposable  that  the  discourses  of  Moses,  as  recorded  in 
Deuteronomy,  were  edited  and  furnished  with  their  introductory 
and  supplementary  narratives  by  Eleazar  and  Joshua. 

3.  '  It  is  also  probable,  and  in  accordance  with  the  ancient  tradi- 
tion, that  Ezra,  the  ready  scribe  in  the  Torah  of  Moses,  which 
Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,  gave  (Exra  vii,  6),  transcribed  the  entire 
Pentateuch  and  added  in  the  margin  or  inserted  in  the  work  itself 
most  of  those  words  and  passages  which  are  generally  believed  to 
have  been  added  long  after  in  the  age  of  Moses." 


-,'       OLD    TKSTAJIEXT  IXTRODUCTIOX.  13 

concerned  to  furnish  an  unbelieving  generation  witli  a  sign 
from  Heaven.  If  a  man  disbelieves,  he  disbelieves  at  his 
own  peril.  It  is  clear  that  the  criticism  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,  while  it  is  reverent,  should  be  entirely  untram- 
meled,  and  it  should  be  held  as  a  fundamental  principle, 
that  Christianity  has  nothing  to  fear  from  the  honest  criti- 
cism of  any  of  the  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  or  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

Some  of  our  theories  in  regard  to  the  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures  may  go  to  the  wall,  but  the  grand  fact  of  Christ- 
ianity, of  its  founder,  Christ,  and  of  the  old  covenant  which 
led  up  to  Him  can  never  be  blotted  out.  They  stand,  im- 
movable as  the  eternal  hills. ^  But  our  theory  of  the  origin 
of  certain  books  may  change  or  not  according  to  the 
clearness  of  the  evidence. 

The  position  occupied  by  Professor  Eiehm,  in  his  Intro- 
duction to  the  Old  Testament,^  is  one  of  absolute  freedom. 
He  says  that  when  he  began  his  studies  the  Sacred  Script- 
ures were,  in  his  eyes,  written  indeed  by  men,  but  com- 
posed only  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  He  did  not  admit  that 
there  were  errors  or  contradictions  in  the  Bible,  or  that 
any  of  its  narratives  were  not  strictly  historical.  He 
affirms  that  this  position  can  only  be  held  by  theologians 
who  have  not  thoroughly  investigated  the  Old  Testament. 

He  saj^s,  "My  standpoint  is  this:  my  entire  Old  Tes- 
tament theology  rests  upon  a  persuasion  of  the  actual 
existence  of  a  revelation  of  God  in  the  Old  Testament 
through  which  there  was  a  preparation  made,  and  a  founda- 


»Cf.  the  writer's  article  in  Our  Day,  Boston,  1889,  vol.  IV.,  pp.  184- 
190. 
^Einleihing  in  das  Alte  Testament,  Halle,  1889. 


14  OLD    TESTAMEXT  EXEGETICAL   THEOLOGY. 

tion  laid  for  the  revelation  of  God  in  the  Son  and  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ.  And  the  longer  and  more  thoroughly 
I  am  occupied  with  the  Old  Testament,  the  more  firmly  is 
this  persuasion  established,  and  the  more  clearly  does  this 
revelation  stand  forth  as  a  fact  before  my  eyes, 'ill  its  his- 
torical workings  and  in  its  high  significance.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  discriminate,  nevertheless,  definitely  that  revela- 
tion of  God  as  a  historical  fact  from  the  Holy  Scriptures 
as  its  documentar}^  attestation.  Further,  I  am  persuaded 
that  the  unique  religious  dignity  and  authority  of  the  Sa- 
cred Scriptures  is  chiefly  established  in  the  relation  in 
which  they  stand  to  that  revelation,  but,  that  these  Script- 
ures, considered  from  the  standpoint  of  literary  history, 
although  they  Vv^ere  composed  by  men  who  were  filled  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  still  arose  in  an  entirely  human  and 
historical  way."^ 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  that  Professor  Eiehm,  like 
Professor  Delitzsch,  distinguishes  between  the  revelation 
made  by  God  to  His  chosen  people,  and  the  history  or 
record  of  that  revelation.^  In  the  Old  Testament  we  have, 
according  to  these  ciitics,  the  record  of  the  revelation,  to- 
gether with  the  history  of  its  reception  and  effects.  It 
will  also  be  seen  that  there  is  an  important  difference  be- 
tween this  theory,  which  does  not  exclude  a  most  consci- 
entious and  painstaking  effort  on  the  part  of  God's  ancient 
servants  faithfully  to  record  the  laws,  the  teachings  and 
the  events  as  they  understood  them  under  the  guidance  of 
God's  Spirit,  and  the  theory  which  maintains  that  the  Old 


Ubid.  p.  2. 

-Prof.  Delitzscli  once  gave  liis  views  to  the  writer  for  publica- 
tion, but  they  are  not  now  at  hand. 


OLD     T/:sTA.VE\T    TNTHODUCTroX.  15 

Testament  Scriptures  are  themselves  the  revehition  of  God 
to  His  people,  given  with  unerring  accuracy. 

Professor  Eiehm  refers,  in  the  statement  of  his  stand- 
point, to  two  articles  in  the  Studicn  und  Kritiken;  one  by 
himself  in  regard  to  the  God-man  character  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures,^  the  other  by  Professor  Eothe  in  his  article  on 
the  Sacred  Scriptures. - 

In  this  Introduction,  which  comprises  his  course  of 
lectures  as  delivered  to  the  theological  students  of  the 
University  of  Halle,  he  expresses  the  earnsest  desire  that  he 
may  not  shake  the  faith  of  any  one  of  them,  and  that  they 
should  not  adopt  his  views  because  of  his  authority,  but 
rather  examine  them  at  their  leisure  after  they  have  left 
the  university. 

His  work  is  of  special  value  because,  that  in  this 
intricate  subject  of  Pentateuch  criticism,  he  gives  not  only 
results  but  also  processes.  He  says  that  his  ultimate 
object  is  nothing  else  than  to  show  the  foundation  for  a 
belief  in  revelation  which  can  stand  before  criticism. 

In  his  discussion  of  the  Pentateuch,  as  has  been  already 
intimated,  he  finds  no  testimony  in  Genesis  concerning 
its  author.  The  testimony  of  the  first  four  books  is  not 
that  they  were  written  by  Moses,  but  on) y  that  small  por- 
tions were  written  by  him.  He  finds  in  such  expressions 
as  "And  Jehovah  spake  to  Moses,"  not  so  much  an  indi- 
cation of  writing  as  of  the  existence  of  oral  tradition. 
*'We  are  therefore  led  through  the  testimony  of  the  first 
four   books  to  the  supposition  that  Moses    wa'ote  only    a 


^Ueber   den   gottmenschlichen    Character   der   heiligen   Schrift,   iu 
Theologische  Studien  und  Kritiken,  Gotlia,  1859,  pp.  304-320. 
-Ibid.  18G0,  Zur  Dogmadk.  Heilige  Sclirift,  pp.  7-108. 


16  OLD   TESTAMEXT  EXEGETICAL   THEOLOGY. 

little  with  his  own  hand,  and  that  he  transmitted  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  legislation  to  posterity  through  oral 
tradition,  partly  of  the  entire  people,  partly  of  the  priests, 
and  that  this  oral  tradition  was  first  in  later  times  fixed  by 
writing."^ 

His  Slimming  up  in  regard  to  Deuteronomy,  which 
seems  to  contain  a  definite  statement  that  Moses  wrote  the 
entire  book  (Deut.  xxxi,  9),  is  as  follows:  "1.  The 
testimony  of  Deuteronomy  does  not  relate  to  the  rest  of 
the  Pentateuch.^  2.  The  testimony  of  Deuteronomy 
cannot  be  taken  to  mean  that  the  entire  book  was  written 
by  Moses.  3.  This  testimony,  which  applies  to  iv,  44,- 
xxviii,  69,  does  not  indicate  that  it  is  an  authentic  copy 
of  the  Mosaic  law,  but  refers  only  to  the  work  of  the  Deu- 
teronomiker  in  which  he  does  not  attempt  to  discriminate 
between  the  books  of  Moses  and  his  own  writing.  4.  The 
only  part  unmistakably  assigned  to  Moses  is  Deuteronomy 
xxxh." 

After  thus  considering  the  testimony  of  tlie  Pentateuch 
regarding  its  author,  the  various  theories  regarding  the 
origin  of  the  Pentateuch,  he  discusses  the  different  codes. 
The  oldest  of  these  is  the  Book  of  the  Covenant,  Exodus  xx- 
xxiii,  incluchng  the  Decalogue  (Exodus  xx,  2-14),  which, 
as  he  says,  is  recognized  as  Mosaic,  notwithstanding 
the  criticisms  presented  by    Wellhausen,  who  assigns    it 


^Einleitung  in  das  Alte  Testament,  Halle,  1889,  p.  104. 

-Prof.  Delitzsch  has  shown,  through  the  citation  of  Jewish 
writers,  Zeitschrift  fiir  die.  gesammte  lutherische  Theologie  und 
Kirche,  Leipzig,  1860,  pp.  220-223,  that  the  law  alluded  to  in  Deut. 
xxxi,  9-11,  which  is  to  be  read  once  in  seven  years,  is  Deuter- 
onomy, and  does  not  include  the  rest  of  the  Pentateucli. 


OLD  TESTAMENT  INTRODrcTToX.  17 

to  the  time  of  Manasseh.  Next  in  antiquity  is  "the  hiwof 
holiness,"  Leviticus  xviii-xxvi.  Contrary  to  those  ^vho 
are  adherents  of  the  school  of  Wellhausen,  he  maintains 
that  the  middle  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  including  Exodus 
xii,  xxv-xxxi,  and  xxxv-xl,  the  book  of  Leviticus,  with 
the  exception  of  "the  law  of  holiness,"  and  most  of  the 
legal  sections  in  Numbers  i-x,  xv-xix,  xxv-xxxvi,  are 
older  than  the  book  of  Deuteronomy;  and  that  they  do 
not  in  any  case  belong  to  the  post-exilic  period. 

Prof.  Kiehm's  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament  is  still 
incomplete.  Of  the  parts  which  have  already  appeared, 
365  pages  are  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  the  Pentateuch. 

In  this  connection  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament 
priesthood/  by  Count  Baudissin,  may  be  mentioned  as  an 
important  contribution  to  the  study  of  Pentateuch  criticism. 
Indeed,  the  object  of  this  investigation  is  evidently  with 
reference  to  the  -relative  age  of  the  documents  in  the  Pen- 
tateuch, according  to  the  analysis  of  the  critics. 

The  results  of  Baudissin's  investigations  lead  him  to 
conclusions  with  reference  to  the  age  of  these  documents 
very  different  from  those  reached  by  the  school  of  Well- 
liausen.  He  maintains,  in  opposition  to  those  who  hold 
that  the  middle  books  of  the  Pentateuch  were  Avritten  after 
the  exile,  that  the  final  editor  of  the  Hexateuch  was  the 
Deuteronomist.'-^  He  believes  that  not  only  JE  but  also 
P  were  in  existence  before  Deuteronomy ;  but  not  that  JE 
had  been  combined  with  P  at  that  time.  He  thinks  that 
he  sees  an  acquaintance  on  the  part  of  D  with  the  Sinaitic 
law,  as  found  in  P. 


^Die   Geschichte    des     alttestamentUchen    Priesterthums,   Leipzig. 
-Ibid.  p.  233. 


18  OLD    TESTA JIE^T  KXEGETlCAL    THEOLOGY. 

He  says  that  the  Deuteronomist  appears  to  have 
belonged  to  the  second  half  of  the  Exile.  When  he  speaks 
of  the  Deuteronomist  he  does  not  mean  the  original  author 
of  Deuteronomy,  whom  he  assigns  to  an  age  at  latest  as 
early  as  that  of  Josiah,  but  an  author  writing  in  the  spirit 
of  the  one  who  composed  Deuteronomy,  and  who  may 
perhaps  himself,  or  one  who  was  in  closest  sympathy  with 
him,  have  been  the  author  of  the  historical  books  of  Judges, 
Samuel  and  Kings  in  their  modified  form.^ 

The  book  is  an  interesting  discussion  of  the  special 
theme  which  it  treats  in  regard  to  the  priests,  and  does 
not  suffer  from  the  criticisms  made  by  a  Jewish  author 
who  has  written  upon  the  same  subject.^ 

The  third  edition  of  Strack's  Introduction  to  the  Old 
Testament^  , which  is  a  part  of  Zoeckler's  Manual  of  The- 
ological Sciences,  was  published  in  18SS.  This  work,  as  is 
well  known,  is  published  in  the  interest  of  the  conservative 
school  of  theology.  Prof.  Strack,  however,  in  his  brief 
discussion  of  Pentateuch  criticism,  substantially  adopts 
the  views  of  the  modern  critical  school  with  reference  to  the 
number  of  the  documents  which  make  up  the  Pentateuch. 
He  says:  "In  spite  of  the  great  popularity  which  the  views 
of  Graf  and  Wellhausen  enjoy  at  the  present  time,  we  are, 
nevertheless,  persuaded  that  an  essential  change  in  the 
previous  treatment  of  the  history  of  Israel,  and  especially 
of  the  activity  of  Moses,  will  not  exist  permanently." 

"  On  the  other  hand,  one  result  will    certainly  remain 


Uhid.  p.  235, 

"Vogelstein,    Der  Kampf  zicische.n  Priestern  iind  Leviten  seit  den 
Tagen  Ezechiels,  Stettin,  1889. 
^Einleitung  in  das  Alte  Testament.  Xoerdlingen,  1888. 


()L  I)    TES  T.  1  ME  NT  VXTROI)  UCTION.  19 

fixed — that  the  Pentateuch  was  not  composed  by  Moses 
himself,  but  was  compiled  by  later  editors  out  of  several 
sources.  Against  this  result  no  believing  Christian  has 
any  occasion  to  contend,  or  to  struggle  any  more  than 
against  any  result  of  true  science.  It  is  undeniable,  and 
at  present  as  good  as  universally  recognized,  that  in  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,  aside  from  the  Divine  factor,  human 
factors  have  also  ver}'  essentially  been  at  work.  Indeed, 
the  plurality  of  sources  can  be  turned  to  the  advantage  of 
the  credibility  of  the  Pentateuch."  ^ 

Strack  gives  an  important,  although  brief  summing  up, 
with  regard  to  the  number,  age  and  succession  of  the 
documents  as  set  forth  by  the  following  ten  Old  Testament 
scholars :  Noeldeke,  Schrader,  Dillman,  Delitzsch,  H. 
Schultz,  Wellhausen,  Stade,  Graf,  Kayser,  Eeuss. 

He  says:  "Keil,  who  died  on  the  5th  of  May,  1888, 
was  almost  the  only  German  Old  Testament  scholar  of  any 
note  who  still  held  fast  to  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  the 
entire  Pentateuch.  If  we  leave  this  view  aside,  since  this 
firm  maintenance  of  it  rested  less  upon  his  own  critical 
investigations  than  upon  his  almost  exclusive  interest  in 
that  which  was  theological,  archaeological  and  philological, 
the  most  important  differences  (which  exist  among  the  crit- 
ics named)  appertain  to  the  Priests'  Code."  '^ 

Inasmuch  as  Strack  admits  the  right  of  criticism,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  he  should  concede  that  the  last  twen- 
ty-seven chapters  of  Isaiah  were  written  in  the  time  of  the 
Babjdonian  exile. -^ 


Uhid.  pp.  31-32. 
'Ihid.  p.  29. 
Hbkl.  p.  43. 


2  OLD    TESTAMEyr  EXEGETK'AL    THEOLOGY. 

Job. — Professor  Gilbert  1ms  produced  a  valuable  con- 
tribution to  Old  Testament  Introduction  in  his  treatise  on 
"The  Poetry  of  Job."^  It  is  the  result  of  careful  study 
under  favorable  circumstances,  and  represents  the  consum- 
mation of  his  efforts  to  secure  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philos- 
ophy at  the  University  of  Leipzig.  The  "  translation  aims  to 
give  the  particular  rhythmical  movement  of  the  original." 
The  book  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  first  of  which  con- 
sists of  the  translation ;  the  second  treats  of  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  poem,  including  a  brief  analysis  of  the  book, 
a  discussion  of  nature  in  the  poem,  of  the  animal  king- 
dom, human  life,  and  the  poet's  conception  of  God. 

The  following  lines  give  a  specimen,  not  only  of  the 
poetical  translation,  but  also  of  the  rendering  of  one  of 
the  most  important  passages  in  the  book : 

"  Pity  me,  pity  me,  ye  my  friends  I 

For  the  hand  of  Eloah  hath  touched  me. 

0  whj''  pursue  me  like  God, 

And  be  not  filled  with  my  flesh? 

O  now  that  my  words  were  writ  down, 

O  were  they  inscribed  in  the  book! 

With  an  iron  pen  and  with  lead 

Forever  engraved  in  the  rock! 

But  I  know  my  Eedeemer  doth  live, 

And  later  shall  rise  o'er  the  dust. 

Then  after  my  skin,  thus  beat  off, 

And  free  from  my'flesh  I'll  see  God; 

Whom  I  for  myself  shall  see, 

And  my  eyes  behold,  and  no  stranger." 

So  hopeful  a  beginning  in  Old  Testament  work  makes 


^The  Poetry  of  Job,  by  George  H.  Gilbert,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of 
New  Testament  Literature  and  Interpretation  in  the  Chicago  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Chicago,  McClurg  &  Co.,  1889. 


OLD    TESTA JIEXT    IXTHnnrCTinX.  31 

US  regret  that  the  author  was  not  permitted  to  continue  his 
special  studies  in  this  department.  We  desire,  however, 
to  congratulate  New  Testament  scholars  on  the  accession 
of  a  man  of  such  scholarly  habits  and  instincts  to  their 
ranks. 

The  Song  of  Songs. — Rev.  William  Elliot  Griffis,  D.  D., 
of  the  Shawmut  Congregational  Church,  Boston,  has  given 
a  noble  example  of  what  may  be  done  by  a  busy  pastor 
in  the  line  of  useful  scholarship  and  authorship.  His 
book  entitled  "The  Lily  Among  Thorns^^'  a  study  of  the 
BibUcal  drama  entitled  the  "Song  of  Songs," -^  is  an  honor 
to  him  as  well  as  to  our  American  clergymen.  While 
the  work  presents  nothing  particularly  new,  to  those  who 
are  familar  with  the  criticism  of  this  beautiful  love  song, 
it  is  the  most  attractive,  and  perhaps  the  most  complete 
presentation  of  modern  theories  in  English  dress.  He 
rejects  the  allegorical  interpretation  of  the  poem,  and  sees 
in  it  rather  the  effort  to  present  a  picture  of  pure  love  as  a 
lesson  to  men  and  women  of  all  times.  The  work  consists 
of  three  parts:  1,  history  and  criticism;  2,  the  text  in 
the  Eevised  Version ;  3,  studies  and  comments. 

The  three  main  characters,  according  to  the  theory  pro- 
sented  by  Dr.  Griffis,  are  Solomon,  the  beautiful  Shula- 
mite,  and  her  faithful  country  lover,  to  whom  she  remains 
true  amid  all  the  seductions  of  the  court  of  the  most  pow- 
erful Israelitish  king. 

It  seems  to  us  that  the  book  is  far  more  useful  when 
we  lay  aside  the  allegorical  interpretation,  and  adopt  that 
which  does  not  seek  to  read  anything  between  the  lines. 


'Boston,  1890. 


^2  OLD   TESTAMEXT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

The  allegorical  interpretation  has  evidentl}^  arisen  from  a 
desire  to  find  in  Scripture,  and  in  this  particular  Scripture, 
what  it  was  thought  should  be  its  special  teaching.  It  is 
true  that  the  idea  oi'  the  relationship  between  Jehovah  and 
His  covenant  people  as  husband  and  wife,  and  between 
Christ  and  the  Church  as  bridegroom  and  bride,  is  often 
found  in  the  Bible.  But  we  have  no  authority,  except  that 
of  Jewish  and  Christian  interpreters,  for  the  allegorical 
interpretation  which  makes  such  a  sensualist  as  Solomon 
stand  for  Christ,  and  the  Shulamite  represent  the 
Church. 

Joel. — The  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament^  by  Pro- 
fessor Kuenen,  of  w4iich  the  first  volume  on  the  Hexateuch 
has  appeared,  has  already  been  noticed  in  a  previous  vol- 
ume. The  second  volume  which  treats  of  the  prophetic 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  including  the  major  and 
minor  prophets,  has  recently  been  issued.  Kuenen's  gen- 
eral critical  views,  which  are  well  known  from  the  English 
translation  of  his  works,  need  not  detain  us.  But  it  is 
interesting  to  see  that  he  has  entirely  changed  his  theory 
with  reference  to  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Joel.  As  is 
well  known,  some  of  the  critics  maintain  that  this  is  one 
of  the  oldest  books  among  the  Prophets ;  others  that  it  is 
one  of  the  youngest.  Professor  Kuenen,  in  the  old  edition 
of  his  Introduction,  held  that  Joel  prophesied  during  the 
first  half  of  the  reign  of  Joash,  between  b78  and  858  B.  C 

The  book  contains  so  much  that  is  favorable  to  the 
early  origin  of  the  ritual  of  the  middle  books  of  the  Pen- 


^Historisch-Critisch  Onderzoek  naar  het  Ontstaan  en  ch  Verza- 
meliny  van  tie  Boeken  des  Ouden  Verbonds,  Leiden,  1889.  The  first 
edition  was  published  in  Leiden,  1863. 


OLD    TESTAMENT   INTRODUCTION.  23 

tateucli,  that  critics  of  the  modern  school  are  incHned  to 
assign  to  it  a  much  later  date. 

Knenen  now  holds  that  Joel  was  written  after,  rather 
than  hefore,  the  year  400  B.  C,  for  the  following  reasons  : 
Judali  no  longer  has  Israel  for  a  neighbor,  but  is  itself 
Israel.  No  king  of  the  royal  court  is  named  in  the 
prophecy.  The  people  are  ruled  by  their  elders ;  next  them 
stand  the  priests  of  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  the  only 
sanctuary  which  Joel  knows.  He  evidently  assigns  a  high 
value  to  the  worship  in  this  Temple,  especially  to  the  daily 
sacrifice.  ^ 

There  is  some  danger  of  the  critics  reasoning  in  a 
circle  in  reference  to  the  age  of  this  book.  If  it  can  be 
proved  that  there  was  no  king  at  the  time  when  it  was 
written,  and  that  all  the  circumstances  conform  to  the  time 
of  the  second  Temple,  then  we  must  admit  a  post-exilic 
origin ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  a  large  number  of 
scholars  firmly  hold  the  older  date  of  the  book,  although 
the  tendency  at  the  present  time  is  probably  indicated  in 
the  view  quoted  from  Kuenen. 


Uhid.  pp.  341,  354. 


CHAPTEE  II. 


OLD    TESTAMENT    EXEGESIS. 


In  our  discussion  of  this  subject  we  shall  have  reference 
almost  exclusively  to  the  Introduction,  in  the  commenta- 
ries mentioned,  to  the  various  Old  Testament  books.  An 
interesting  series  of  commentaries,  already  known  to  our 
American  scholars,  is  in  the  process  of  publication,  called 
"  The  Expositor's  Bible."  The  method  is  not  that  of  treat- 
ing individual  passages,  but  rather  of  a  free  discussion  of 
entire  chapters. 

While  some  of  the  volumes  in  the  series  are  based 
upon  the  results  of  scientific  criticism,  others  seem  to  fall 
below  the  standard  in  this  respect. 

Genesis. — Professor  Dods,  in  his  chapter  entitled 
"The  Creation,"  comprising  Genesis  I  and  II,  indicates  that 
he  is  an  adherent  of  a  freer  method  of  interpretation  than 
that  followed  by  many.  He  says  we  are  not  to  look  to  the 
Bible  as  a  source  of  scientific  information.  *'  No  one  for 
a  moment  dreams  of  referring  a  serious  student  of  these 
subjects  to  the  Bible  as  a  source  of  information.  It  is  not 
the  object  of  the  writers  of  Scripture  to  impart  physical 
instruction,  or  to  enlarge  the  bounds  of  scientific  knowl- 
edge. But  if  any  one  wishes  to  know  what  connection  the 
world  has  v/ith  God,  if  he  seeks  to  trace  back  all  that  now 
is  to  the  very  fountain-head  of  life,  if  he  desires  to  dis- 


OLD    TESTAMENT   EXEGESIS.  25 

cover  some  unifying  principle,  some  illuminating  purpose 
in  the  history  of  this  earth,  then  we  confidently  refer  him 
to  these  and  the  subsequent  chapters  of  Scripture  as  his 
safest  and  indeed  his  only  guide  to  the  information  he 
seeks. '^^ 

We  consider  this  position  taken  by  Dr.  Dods  as  really 
a  correct  one.  As  we  shall  indicate  elsewhere,  we  do  not 
think  that  the  Bible  was  intended  to  teach  science;  and  we 
quite  agree  with  Dr.  Dods  when  he  says :  "All  attempts  to 
force  its  statements  into  such  accord  [with  science]  are  fu- 
tile and  mischievous.  They  are  futile,  because  they  do  not 
convince  independent  inquirers,  but  only  those  who  are 
unduly  anxious  to  be  convinced,  and  they  are  mischievous 
because  thej^  unduly  prolong  the  strife  between  Scripture 
and  science,  putting  the  question  on  a  false  issue."  ^ 

Dr.  Dods  rightly  apprehends  the  design  of  the  writer 
when  he  says  in  connection  with  Genesis  iv,  "it  is  not  his 
purpose  to  write  a  history  of  the  world.  It  is  not  his  pur- 
pose to  write  even  a  history  of  mankind.  His  object  is  to 
write  a  history  of  redemption."^  He  finds  that  the  key- 
note has  been  struck  in  the  promise  that  the  seed  of  the 
woman  should  prevail  over  the  seed  of  the  serpent. 

In  this  unbiased  way  Dr.  Dods  proceeds  throughout 
the  book,  which  is  likely  to  be  us3ful  and  helpful  to  all  who 
wish  to  make  a  practical  use  of  Genesis. 

Samuel. — The  commentary  on  First  and  Second  Sam- 
uel by  Rev.  W.  G.  Blaikie,  of  the  New  College,  Edinburgh, 


^The  Book  of  Genesis,  New  York  [without  date],  p.  1. 
=/^«V.p.  4. 
'Ibid.  p.  28. 


26  OLD  TESTAMENT  EXEOETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

is  less  satisfactory,  and  does  not  seem  to  be  especially 
based  on  critical  study. 

This  may  arise  from  the  fact  that  Professor  Blaikie's 
department  is  not  that  of  Old  Testament  literature  and  in- 
terpretation, but  of  practical  theology.  ^  Perhaps  there  is 
no  book  in  the  Old  Testament  which  furnishes  greater 
room  for  a  careful  study  of  the  text  than  that  of  Samuel. 
Besides,  those  questions  which  occasion  difficulty  to  Bible 
students  seem  to  have  been  entirely  passed  by,  and  only  a 
practical  discussion  of  the  question  has  been  given. 

Isaiah. — The  commentary  on  Isaiah,  ^  by  Piev.  G.  A. 
Smith,  belongs  to  the  same  class  of  critical  exegesis  which 
we  have  marked  in  the  commentary  on  Genesis.  The  treat- 
ment of  the  prophecy  is  highly  creditable  to  the  author 
and  useful  to  the  student.  Mr.  Smith  has  taken  special 
pains  to  discuss  the  prophecy  with  reference  to  its  histori- 
cal setting.  The  plan  that  he  has  adopted  for  grouping 
Isaiah's  prophecies  is  as  follows  :  he  considers  that  those 
which  fall  within  Isaiah's  time  were  determined  chiefly  by 
four  Assyrian  invasions  of  Palestine  :  "The  first,  in  73-1-732 
B.  C,  by  Tiglath-Pileser  II,  while  Ahaz  was  on  the  throne ; 
the  second  by  Shalmanassar  and  Sargon,  in  725-720,  dur- 
ing which  Samaria  fell,  in  721;  the  third  by  Sargon,  712- 
710;  the  fourth  by  Sennacherib,  in  701,  which  last  three 
occurred  while  Hezekiah  was  king  of  Judah. "  ^ 

He  says  further,  taking  all  these  dates  into  considera- 
tion:  "I  have  placed  in  Book  I  all  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah 

'See   Scliaff,    Encyclopedia   of   Living  Divines,   New   York,    1887, 
p.  19. 
•The  Book  of  Isaiah,  New  York  [without  datej. 
Ibid.  p.  xi. 


OLD    TESTAMENT   EXEGESIS.  27 

from  Ins  call  in  740  to  the  death  of  Ahaz,  in  727.  .  .  Book 
II  deals  with  the  prophecies  from  the  accession  of  Heze- 
kiah  in  727  to  the  death  of  Sargon  in  705.  .  .  Book  III  is 
tilled  with  the  prophecies  from  705  to  702.  .  .  Book  IV  con- 
tains the  prophecies  which  refer  to  Sennacherib's  actual 
invasion  of  Judah  and  siege  of  Jerusalem  in  701." 

As  a  specimen  of  his  method  we  find  that  in  chapter 
vii,  with  all  modern  critics,  he  gives  up  the  translation  of 
"almah''  as  virgin,  and  renders  it  ''the  young  woman  of  mar- 
riageable age,^'  but  at  the  same  time  he  full}^  accepts  the 
Messianic  character  of  the  passage. 

EzEKiEL  AND  THE  MiNOR  Prophets. — The  Commentary 
by  Orelli  on  these  prophets,^  which  is  a  volume  in  the  se- 
ries by  Strack  and  Zoeckler,  is  an  example  of  a  work  wiiich  is 
both  practical  and  critical.  The  plan  of  the  work  is :  lirst, 
to  give  a  literal  translation  of  the  text ;  second,  notes  which 
are  grammatical  and  critical ;  third,  to  indicate  the  con- 
tents in  a  way  which  will  be  clear  to  a  layman  who  is  un- 
acquainted with  Hebrew.  Hence  the  commentary  is  use- 
ful from  a  critical  and  practical  standpoint.  We  cannot 
delay  with  his  exposition  of  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel,  but 
pass  on  to  his  discussion  of  some  of  the   minor  prophets. 

Joel. — In  contradistinction  to  many  of  the  modern 
critics,  he  considers  that  the  book  of  Joel  was  written  before 
the  Exile  and  belongs  to  one  of  the  oldest  prophecies.  He 
places  it  in  the  age  of  King  Joash,  on  literary  and  his- 
torical grounds. 

Jonah. — Orelli  is  among  the  few  German  critics  Avho 
regard    the  book  of  Jonah  as   based  upon  actual  history. 


'i)(t.s    Buck    Esechiel  _und  die    Zwolf  Kleineii    Propheten,   Nord- 
lingen,  1888. 


28         OLD    TESTAMENT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

With  Keil  lie  seems  inclined  to  believe  that  the  events 
narrated  in  it  occurred  substantially  as  described,  and  that 
they  had  their  justification  in  the  use  which  was  made  of 
them  by  Christ  as  typifying  his  own  death  and  resurrection  ; 
although  he  is  not  inclined  to  affirm  that  if  Jesus'  resurrec- 
tion was  a  bodily  fact,  the  stay  of  Jonah  in  the  belly  of  the 
fish  must  be  a  fact  of  history. 

Zechariah. — With  reference  to  Zechariah,  he  takes  a 
decided  position  against  a  unity  of  authorship.  While  the 
first  part,  chapters  i-viii,  was  written  after  the  Exile,  he 
considers  that  chapters  ix-xi  are  to  be  regarded  as  a 
prophecy  by  a  younger  contemporary  of  Hosea.  Chapters 
xii-xiv,  on  the  other  hand,  are  from  an  entirely  differ- 
ent age,  which  he  maintains  was  subsequent  to  the 
death  of  Josiali  at  Megiddo ;  hence  in  the  period  of 
Jeremiah. 

The  series  of  commentaries,  of  which  the  volume  just 
mentioned  is  one,  belongs,  as  is  well  known,  to  the  con- 
servative school  of  theology  in  Germany. 

Job. — Professors  Yolck  of  Dorpat  and  Oettli  of  Berne 
are  joint  authors  of  the  Poetical  Hagiographa^  belonging  to 
the  same  series  as  that  just  noticed.  The  commentary  on 
Job  is  by  Professor  Yolck. 

He  does  not  hold  that  the  book  of  Job  is  actual  history, 
or  that  the  events  occurred  as  narrated  there,  but  that  they 
are  presented  in  a  dramatic  form.  The  hero  of  the  book 
is  not  an  Israelite,  but  one  of  those  pious  servants  of  the 
true  God  who  lived  outside  of  Israel.  He  does  not  consider 
it  necessary  to  argue  against  the  early  authorship  of  the 


^Dle  Pjetischen  Hagiog-aphen,  Nordlingen,  1889. 


OLD    TKSTAMKXT    i:XK(n:slS.  29 

book,  before  the  time  of  Moses,  for  he  says  thcat  at  the 
present  day  it  does  not  require  any  refutation.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  does  i:ot  admit  that  it  was  written  after  the 
Exile.  He  thinks  that  it  was  probably  composed  about 
the  year  700  B.  C.  This  seems  to  him  to  be  supported  by 
the  fact  that  in  the  time  of  Hezekiah,  727-698  B.  C,  the 
composition  of  proyerbs  (xxv,  1)  receiyed  a  new  impulse. 
The  discourses  of  Elihu,  which  with  other  critics  he  main- 
tains were  the  product  of  another  hand,  were  composed 
during  the  sixth  century  B.  C. 

He  argues  decidedly  against  the  deriyation  of  the 
doctrine  concerning  Satan  from  Parseeism. 

EccLESiASTES. — The  commentary  on  the  book  of 
Ecclesiastes  is  by  the  same  author.  He  says  the  supposi- 
tion that  this  book  originated  with  Solomon  can  now  be 
considered  as  fully  disproyed ;  and  that  the  artificial  name 
Koheleth,  which  is  assigned  to  the  son  of  Dayid  and  King 
of  Jerusalem,  shows  that  the  representation  that  a  son  of 
Dayid  is  speaking  here  is  to  be  recognized  as  a  fiction. 

From  the  lexical  peculiarities  of  the  book,  in  which 
there  are  many  Aramaic  elements,  he  concludes  that  it  was 
not  wTitten  until  the  Persian  period,  and  that  the  place  of 
its  composition  was  in  Jerusalem. 

Solomon's  Song  And  Jjamentations. — The  commentary 
on  Solomon's  Song,  not  to  speak  of  that  on  Lamentations, 
is  by  Oettli,  professor  of  theology  at  Berne.  He  takes  the 
ordinary  critical  yiew  in  regard  to  the  dramatic  form  of  the 
book.  Like  most  modern  scholars,  he  rejects  the  allegorical 
interpretation  of  it.  With  them,  he  considers  that  Shula- 
mith  remained  true  to  her  shepherd  loyer  in  the  midst  of  all 
the  seductions  of  Solomon's  court.     He  says  that  the  dis- 


80        OLD    TESTAMENT    EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

courses  of  Shulamith,  and  of  her  friend  are  pure,  while  those 
of  Solomon  and  the  court  ladies  are  not  so  in  an  equal  degree. 
With  reference  to  the  vie^v  of  those  who  consider  Solomon 
the  beloved  one  he  remarks:  "No  one  in  the  entire  Israel- 
itish  history  is  less  adapted  than  Solomon  to  represent  the 
mystery  of  wedded  love."     This  is  undoubtedly  true. 

With  reference  to  the  time  of  composition,  he  maintahis 
that  it  was  written  in  the  first  half  of  the  tenth  century 
B.  C,  in  the  generation  following  the  time  of  Solomon,  and 
that  the  object  of  the  composition  is  to  set  forth  a  pure 
human  love. 

Chronicles. — Professors  Oettli  and  Meinhold  have 
issued  a  commentary  in  the  series,  on  the  Historical  Hagio- 
grapha.^ 

It  is  well  known  that  the  tendency  of  scholarship  is  to 
throw  doubt  upon  the  credibility  of  the  book  of  Chronicles. 
It  is  regarded,  at  best,  as  written  so  strongly  with  a  par- 
ticular end  in  view  as  to  cause  an  actual,  if  not  a  delib- 
erate misrepresentation  of  the  facts  of  history. 

While  Oettli  admits  that  the  author  has  represented 
history  according  to  the  standpoint  of  his  time,  he  never- 
theless claims  that  the  author  of  the  books  of  Chronicles 
has  made  use  of  many  good  sources.  Indeed,  there  is  no 
work  in  the  Old  Testament  which  refers  to  so  many  docu- 
ments as  the  book  of  Chronicles.  Oettli  shows  that  there 
is  evidence  that  the  chronicler  has  not  drawn  merely 
upon  his  imagination  for  those  points  in  which  he  diverges 
from  the  books  of  Kings  and  Samuel.  He  concedes,  how- 
ever, that  his  writings  are  inferior  as  a  source  of  Old  Tes- 


1  Die  Ctschichtlichcn  Hagiographen,  Nordlingen,  1889. 


OLD    TESTAMENT    EXEGESIS.  31 

tament  history,  to  those  of  the  parallel  historical  books, 
because  the  text  has  been  less  carefully  preserved,  and  be- 
cause of  the  strong  subjectivity  with  which  the  author 
treats  the  history. 

Ezra  and  Nehemiah. — The  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehe- 
miah  were  reckoned  by  the  Jews  as  one  book,  and  were 
known  by  the  name  of  Ezra.  The  commentary  on  these 
is  by  Professor  Oettli.  He  considers  that  they  were  based 
on  good,  historical  memorials.  He  finds  in  them  a  history 
of  the  post-exilic  congregation  from  the  first  year  of  Cyrus 
(Ezra  i,  1),  to  the  thirty-second  year  of  Artaxerxes  (^Neh. 
xiii,  6),  hence  from  536  to  433  B.  C,  although  many  im- 
portant connecting  links  are  omitted.  From  this  period 
we  have  the  history  of  the  following  years :  Exra  i-vi,  de- 
scribing the  years  536-516;  Ezra  vii-x,  the  years  458-457, 
while  the  entire  intermediate  period  from  516  to  458  is 
passed  over;  Neh.  i-vii  treats  of  the  years  445  and  444, 
while  the  j^ears  457-445  are  entirely  neglected.  Chapters 
viii-x  of  Nehemiah  fall  in  the  years  immediately  follow- 
ing until  433. 

Following  in  the  footsteps  of  other  critics,  he  considers 
it  impossible  that  either  Ezra  or  Nehemiah  should  be  the 
author  of  the  book  called  by  his  name ;  for  in  Neh.  xii, 
10-11  the  hst  of  high  priests  is  given  from  Jeshua  to 
Jaddua ;  hence  the  book  could  not  have  received  its  final 
form  until  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

EuTH. — The  commentary  on  Ruth,  which  is  also  by  the 
same  author,  is  considered,  contrary  to  many  critics,  as 
furnishing  true  history,  and  as  affording  clear  evidence  of 
being  written  while  Israel  had  a  grand  history  behind  it  as 
well  as  a  grand  future  before  it.  Perhaps  in  the  same  age 
when  the  books  of  Samuel  were  composed. 


32         OLJ)    TESTA3IEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Esther. — The  commentary  on  the  book  of  Esther  is 
also  by  Oetth.  He  considers  that  the  object  of  the  book 
was  to  give  a  historical  explanation  of  the  traditional  fes- 
tival of  Purim.  As  is  well  known,  the  name  of  God  does 
not  once  occur  in  this  book.  The  reason  of  this  may  have 
come  from  the  extreme  reverence  which  in  later  times  led 
the  Jews  to  avoid  the  profanation  of  the  divine  name,  es- 
pecially perhaps  in  connection  with  the  joyful  celebration 
of  the  Purim  festival.  He  argues  in  favor  of  the  histori- 
cal character  of  the  book,  and  considers  it  necessary  to 
assume  this  in  order  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  Purim 
festival. 


CHAPTEE  III. 


OLD  TESTAMENT  THEOLOGY. 


During  the  past  year,  three  works  have  been  pub- 
lished covering  the  entire  subject  of  Old  Testament  Theol- 
ogy. Two  of  them  were  issued  after  the  death  of  their 
authors,  who  were  professors  in  the  University  of  Halle. 
The  third  is  the  fourth  edition  of  Schultz's  Old  Testament 
Theology.^  Together,  they  form  the  most  important  con- 
tribution w^hich  has  been  made  in  any  one  year  to  the  study 
of  the  subject,  and  are  all  worthy  of  translation  into  Eng- 
lish, especially  the  treatise  by  Schultz. 

As  the  works  of  Eiehm^  and  Schlottmann^  were  not 
revised  by  their  authors  with  reference  to  publication,  they 
do  not  possess  that  finish  in  detail  which  might  have  been 
expected  if  their  authors  had  been  permitted  to  carry  them 
through  the  press. 

Professors  Riehm  and  Schlottmann  occupied  a  position 
which  in  Germany  would  be  called  conservative.  This 
remark  is  particularly  true  of  the  latter,  although  neither 
of  them  would  fall  into  this  category  from  the  prevailing 
standpoint  of  our  American  theologians. 


1  Altte8tamentliche  Theologie,  GottlDgen,  1889. 

2  AlttestamentUche  Theologie,  Halle,  1889. 


^  Kompendium  der  Biblischen  Theologie  des  Alien  und  Neuen  Testa- 
ments, Leipzig,  1889. 


34         OLD    TESTAMEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY, 

Professor  Schultz  takes  a  position  nearer  that  of  the 
school  of  Wellhausen,  though  differing  from  him  in  essen- 
tial points.  His  work  is  of  exceeding  importance,  be- 
cause it  makes  such  an  application  of  critical  theories  as 
to  show  that  a  constructive  criticism  can  rise  upon  the 
ruins  of  that  which  is  commonly  regarded  as  destructive. 

No  unbiased  student  can  read  the  work  of  Schultz 
without  admiring  his  profound  knowledge  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, with  which  he  seems  to  be  saturated,  and  the 
reverent  spirit  which  pervades  the  book,  and  without  feel- 
ing that  whatever  criticism  may  prove  we  have  a  settled 
ground  for  our  belief  in  the  inspired  character  of  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures. 

The  treatise  by  Professor  Schlottmann,  which  is  called 
a  Compendium  of  Biblical  Theology  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  is  especially  to  be  commended  for  its  logical 
method  and  clear  presentation  of  the  subject. 

We  shall  confine  ourselves  to  that  part  only  which  re- 
lates to  the  Old  Testament. 

After  a  definition  of  the  idea  of  Biblical  theology  in  the 
ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term  as  the  scientific  repre- 
sentation of  Biblical  teaching  in  its  historical  development,^ 
he  treats  of  the  origin  of  Biblical  theology,  which  he  dates 
back  about  one  hundred  years,  and  of  which  an  ad- 
mirable historical  sketch  is  furnished  bv  Professor  Piiehm.- 


^  Cf.  Current  Discussions  in  Theology,  Chicago,  1887.  Vol.  IV,  p. 
48. 

-  The  first  who  treated  this  subject,  but  from  a  rationalistic  stand- 
point, was  Gabler,  1787.  The  principles  which  hS  laid  down  were 
carried  out  by  G.  L,  Bauer,  1796.  A  further  advance  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject,  although  of  a  superficial  character,  wasmade 
by  G.  P.   C.   Kaiser,  1813.     De  Wette  marks  a  still  further  stage  in 


OLD    TESTA MEyr    TIIEOLOGY.  35 

In  the  strict  acceptation  of  the  term,  however,  BibHcal 
theology  must  be  regarded  as  a  product  of  the  scientific 
system  of  exegesis  developed  during  the  last  fifty  years. 

While  Schultz  maintains  that  the  Apocryphal  writings 
of  the  Old  Testament  can  be  used  only  in  an  explanatory 
way,^  Schlottmann  considers  them  an  important  connect- 
ing link  between  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.- 

Biblical  theology  is  the  completion  of  the  historical  and 
critical  study  of  the  trained  exegete.  Its  relation  to  the 
scientific  treatment  of  Biblical  history  is  the  same  as  the 
history  of  doctrine  to  that  of  universal  Church  history. 
Schlottmann  considers  it  as  the  norm  and  corrective 
for  systematic  theology.  His  division  of  the  subject  is 
as  follows:  1.  The  Primitive  Tradition ;  2.  The  Law;  8. 
Prophecy;  -I.  The  Theocratic  Consciousness  of  the  Con- 
gregation; 5.  Post-canonical  Judaism. 

His  views  regarding  the  primitive  tradition  are,  that  the 
primitive  history  of  mankind  (Genesis  i-xi)  and  the 
patriarchal  history  (Genesis  xii-1)  do  not  rest  on  a  reve- 
lation made  to  Moses,  but  that  they  rather  contain  rem- 
iniscences of  an  original  revelation  and  of  the  real  facts  of 
Divine  guidance,  not  only  in  the  most  ancient  periods  of 
the  human  race,  but  also  in  the  time  of  the  patriarchs. 
While  these  reminiscences,  from  a  necessity  of  the  degree 
of  human  development   in  the  time  when  they  originated. 


tliis  department,  3813.  Vatke,  1835,  and  Bruno  Bauer,  1839,  prepared 
works  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Hegelian  philosophy.  Not  to 
mention  several  other  names,  we  come  to  the  real  founders  of  Bib- 
lical theology,  Oehler,  Schultz  and  Ewald. 

^Alttestamentliche  Theoloqie,  Gottingen,  1889,  p.  11. 

•Kompendium  der  Biblischen  Theologie,  Leipzig,  1889,  p.  2. 


36         OLD    TESTAMENT   EXEUETli'AL    THEOLOGY. 

have  been  partially  expressed  in  a  poetic  symbolism,  they 
are  not  mere  myths,  in  accordance  with  the  claim  of 
Sclmltz,  as  we  shall  see  later  on  J 

In  like  manner  the  true  significance  of  the  patriarchal 
religion  is  only  recognized  when  it  is  understood  and  rep- 
resented as  a  general  historical  pre-supj)osition  of  Mosa- 
ism.^ 

He  tindstwo  stages  in  the  primitive  Mosaic  tradition  :  1. 
the  primitive  religion;  2.  the  patriarchal  religion.  The 
history  of  creation  is  a  primitive  tradition  of  mankind 
which  was  preserved  in  greatest  purity  by  the  faithful. 
The  deviations  which  we  find  in  other  national  forms  of 
the  tradition  are  due  to  the  disturbing  influences  of 
heathenism.  We  are  to  discriminate  two  factors  in  this 
tradition:  that  of  the  Divine  revelation,  and  that  of  human 
meditation  on  the  works  of  God.  Whatever  may  be  true 
of  the  account  of  creation  on  its  natural  side,  it  is  not  a 
miraculous  anticipation  of  the  results  of  modern  scientific 
research.  Such  a  theory  involves  an  artificial  treatment 
of  the  text  without  any  satisfactory  results.  It  belongs 
rather  to  the  human  factor  as  affected  by  the  time  when  it 
was  produced.  It  is  not  designed  to  give  any  laws  to 
science  in  its  special  department.  It  only  affords  a  ptand- 
ard  for  the  way  in  which,  at  all  times,  the  human  knowledge 
of  the  gradual  development  and  of  the  fixed  order  in 
nature  is  to  be  harmonized  with  the  Divine  factor  set 
forth  in  the  Biblical  history  of  creation.^' 


nud.  p.  6. 
2/6 id.  p.  8. 
Uhid.  p.  9. 


OLD    TKSTAMEXT    Til i:<)JJ)(l  Y.  37 

He  does  not  consider  the  serpent  an  instrument  of  evil 
spirits,  as  there  is  not  the  least  allusion  to  this  fact,  but 
rather,  the  evil  spirit  himself  is  symbolically  represented 
through  this  cunning  reptile.^ 

In  his  view  of  the  patriarchal  religion,  while  he  admits 
that  the  reminiscences  of  the  patriarchal  period  are  par- 
tially expressed  only  in  a  symbolical  and  poetical  form,  the 
historical  characteristics  of  it  are  to  be  recognized,  not 
only  internally  but  also  externally.'-^ 

The  revelations  made  to  the  patriarchs  are  distinguished 
from  those  of  an  earlier  period  in  two  particulars :  1,  in 
the  announcement  of  a  special  people  who  are  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  heathen  through  a  true  worship  of  God, 
and  2,  through  a  universal  salvation  which  is  to  be  expected 
in  the  fulness  of  time.  The  first  element  is  especially  em- 
phasized by  the  Elohist,  the  second  by  the  Jehovist. 

The  Old  Testament  theology  by  Professor  Eiehm  is  a 
much  more  elaborate  work  than  that  by  his  colleague, 
Professor  Schlottmann.  It  covers  440  pager,  is  limited 
to  the  Old  Testament,  and  is  illustrated  by  learned  notes. 
His  work  is  a  much  more  valuable  contribution  to  the 
subject  than  the  posthumous  volume  of  Professor  Kayser.'^ 
His  treatise  is  divided  into  three  parts  :  Mosaism,  Prophet- 
ism  and  Judaism.  Mosaism  includes  not  only  the  direct 
teaching  of  Moses,  but  his  fundamental  thoughts  as  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  the  people  in  religious  and  political  institu- 
tions by  the  priests,  and  as  developed  by  them  from  the 


Ubid.  p.  11. 
-Ibid.  p.  13. 
'C'lrrent  Discussions  in  TJieology,  Chicago,  Vol.  iv,  pp.  51-5' 


SS  OLD   TEST  AM  EXT  EXEUETICAL   THEOLOGY. 

time  of  Moses  until  that  of  Samuel.  Prophetism  extends 
from  the  time  of  Samuel  until  the  extinction  of  prophecy 
and  the  restoration  of  the  theocracy  through  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah.  Judaism  extends  from  the  time  just  indicated 
to  the  New  Testament  period,  although  the  latter  houndary 
is  rather  implied  than  stated  by  the  author.^ 

In  the  first  part  of  the  historical  introduction,  Kiehm 
considers  the  difference  between  the  Old  Testament  religion 
and  the  other  religions  of  antiquity,  in  its  conceptions  of 
God,  in  its  ethical  character,  and  in  its  being  the  religion 
of  hope. 

The  Old  Testament  religion,  in  its  essential  differences 
from  all  the  other  religions  of  antiquity,  is  neither  a  product 
of  a  universal  human  capacity  for  religious  ideas,  nor  a 
mere  product  of  the  natural  development  of  one  of  the  Sem- 
itic races  possessing  an  especial  gift  for  monotheism,-  as 
Eenan  has  claimed.  Hence,  the  religion  of  Israel  is,  in  its 
origin,  a  religion  of  revelation.  The  other  religions  are 
products  of  the  natural  development  of  il'^Q  religious  spirit 
of  mankind.^ 

He  then  discusses  the  characteristics  which  the  Old 
Testament  religion  has  in  common  with  the  other  religions 
of  antiquity:  1,  as  a  religion  of  the  people;  2,  as  con- 
nected with  a  definite  holy  place,  that  is  with  the  national 
sanctuary ;  3,  in  a  special  priesthood  ;  1,  in  popular  forms. 


'Alttestamentliche  Theologle,  Halle,  1889,  p.  11. 

"Cf.  Renan,  Nouvelles  considerations  sur  le  caractere  general  des 
j>euples  Semitiques,  et  en  particulier  sur  leur  tendence  au  monothe- 
isme,  in  the  Journal  Asiatique,  1859.  Eielnn  saj's  his  position  is  his- 
torically without  foundation. 

Alttestamentlickt  Theologie,  Halle,  1889,  pp.  20-27. 


OLD    TESTAMENT    TUEOLOGY.  39 

customs  and  ceremonies.  T.hat  which  the  Old  Testament 
rehgion  has  in  common  with  the  other  reHgions  of  an- 
tiquity was  willed  by  God,  was  designed  for  the  training  of 
the  people,  and  had  its  Divine  justification  in  the  age  of 
the  Old  Testament  economy.^ 

He  next  surveys  the  essential  connection  of  the  Old 
Testament  with  Christianity,  as  w^ell  as  the  differences  be- 
tween the  two.  The  connection  consists  in  the  selt- 
revelation  of  God  in  both  dispensations,  and  in  the 
moral  and  religious  knowledge  which  Christianity  every- 
where pre-supposes  and  upon  which  it  is  founded.  Old 
Testament  piety,  in  all  its  essential  elements,  is  the  same 
as  that  of  the  New.  In  the  foundation  and  establish- 
ment of  the  Old  Testament  Divine  State,  all  the  chief  ele- 
ments in  the  counsel  of  redemption  and  in  the  idea  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  come  to  a  realization ;  hence,  in  the  en- 
tire old  covenant  the  new  is  typically  prefigured,  and  Chris- 
tianity in  the  Old  Testament  religion.  The  establishment 
of  a  true  fellowship  with  God,  and  of  a  perfect  Kingdom  of 
God,  which  is  attained  in  Christianity,  is  also  the  end  of 
the  Old  Testament  religion.  Christianity  is,  therefore,  the 
fulfillment  of  Old  Testament  promise  and  hope.  The  Old 
Testament  law  stands  in  a  theological  and  pedagogical  re- 
lation to  this  end,  and  the  entire  progress  of  development 
of  the  Old  Testament  religion  in  prophetism  moves  tow^ards 
its  goal  as  found  in  Christianity. ^ 

Eiehm  traces  the  following  differences  between  the  Old 
Testament  religion  and  Christianity^  which  all  have  their 
common  ground  in  the  fact  that  first  through  the  sending 


Hhid,  pp.  27-30. 
Hhid.  pp.  32-3G. 


40       OLD  testa:)iext  exeoetical  theology. 

of  the  Son  as  the  Mediator  of  revelation  and  salvation,  and 
through  his  redemptive  work,  the  complete  spiritual  and 
moral  fellowship  with  God,  which  consists  in  the  indwell- 
ing of  God  in  the  individual  hearts  of  all,  is  established, 
and  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  founded  as  a  Kingdom  of 
Heaven.  As  an  outgrowth  of  this  idea,  he  discriminates 
the  following  elements :  That  which  is  essentially  new  in 
Christian  religious  knowledge  is  the  knowledge  of  the  real 
union  of  God  and  man  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  complete  plan  of  God  con- 
cerning mankind. 

With  reference  to  the  life  and  fellowship  with  God, 
Clyistianity  is  distinguished  from  the  Old  Testament  re- 
ligion in  the  following  particulars:  1,  there  is  a  firm  foun- 
dation in  it  for  a  constant  and  perfect  certainty  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  which  can  be  secured  by  all ;  2,  of  a 
personal  fellowship  of  each  individual  with  God  through 
the  constant  indwelling  of  God's  Spirit  in  the  heart ;  3,  in 
the  consciousness  that  one  thus  attains  as  belonging  to 
God,  there  is  the  full  assurance  of  being  His  child.  In 
connection  with  this,  Christianity  has  no  special  priesthood 
who  have  the  calling  as  mediators  of  salvation,  and  no 
continual  atoning  sacrifice. 

Since  through  Christ  the  perfect  moral  and  spiritual 
fellowship  with  each  individual  is  established,  the  King- 
dom of  God  is  no  more,  as  in  the  Old  Testament,  an  ex- 
ternal, national,  Divine  State,  but  a  spiritual  kingdom 
which,  as  such,  is  raised  above  all  national  peculiarities. 
Hence,  the  New  Testament  universalism  first  breaks 
through  th£  national  particularism  of  the  Old  Testament. 

In  th^  Old  Testament  the  religion  of  the  Kingdom  o 


OLD    TESTA MI'J XT    TlIEOLOdV.  41 

(rod  appears  as  belonging  to  this  earth,  and  to  this  hfe. 
Heaven  and  earth,  the  other  worhl  and  this,  come  in  con- 
tact cnl y  in  the  sacred  places  of  God's  presence  upon  earth ; 
otherwise  they  are  completely  separated  from  each  other. 
Only  this  world  is  the  place  of  human  life,  human  fellow- 
s]]ip  and  the  completion  of  salvation.  Hence,  the  rela- 
tion ^  f  Old  Testament  promises  and  threatenings  to  the 
present  hfe,  and  only  scattered  presentiments  of  a  future 
communion  with  God  after  death.  Christ,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  the  one  who  came  from  Heaven  and  as  again 
raised  to  Heaven,  founded  in  connection  with  complete 
communion  with  the  eternal  God  the  Kingdom  of  God, 
as  a  Kingdom  of  Heaven  upon  the  earth;  that  is,  as  a 
kingdom  in  which  this  present  world  and  the  future  world 
are  most  intimately  connected,  and  are  so  related  that  the 
development  of  human  life  and  the  relationship  of  the  in- 
dividual to  God  attains  its  decided  conclusion  and  comple- 
tion in  the  future  life,  in  the  samxe  manner  as  the  develop- 
ment of  Christian  fellowship.  Therefore,  the  threatenings 
as  well  as  the  promises  relate  in  Christianity  to  the  future 
life,  and  hence,  the  Christian  has  the  clear  and  certain 
hope  of  eternal  life,  which  the  believer  in  the  old  covenant 
did  not  enjoy. ^ 

In  the  second  part  of  the  historical  introduction  Eiehm 
treats  of  the  religious  pecularities  of  the  Semites. 

The  religion  of  the  Semitic  race  must  have  been  sim- 
ple and  relatively  pure,  especially  without  a  developed 
mythology,  and  without  real  images ;  but  it  possessed  sa- 
cred stones  and  trees  and  teraphim,  which  served  as  rep- 


Uhiih  pp.  3G-i2. 


42         OLD    TESTAMENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

resentatives  of  the  Deity  from  whom  they  sought  informa- 
tion. We  may  form  certain  conchisions  from  the  common 
pecuharities  of  the  rehgions  of  the  Semitic  peoples  which 
show  that  they  formed  an  especially  favorable  ground  for 
the  founding  of  the  Old  Testament  religion. 

The  following  are  the  religious  peculiarities  of  the  Se- 
mitic stock:  1.  The  uncommon  energy  with  which  the  reli- 
gious spirit  and  bent  make  themselves  felt  as  ruling  the 
entire  current  of  the  people's  life,  and  which  easily  put 
all  other  interests  in  the  background;  2.  In  connection 
with  this  unique  character  of  the  religious  spirit  is  the  pre- 
dilection of  the  Semitic  peoples  for  special  deities  for  their 
peoples  and  families.  Each  tribe  had  its  own  peculiar 
God,  as  a  representative  of  its  nationality  in  the  world  of 
gods,  to  whom  all  other  gods  were  easily  subordinated.  In 
this  expressed  predilection  for  a  god  of  the  people  lay  a 
connecting  link  for  monotheism ;  3.  Moreover,  out  of  this 
religious  energy  among  the  Semitic  peoples  grew  an  espe- 
cially strong  tendency  to  know  the  will  and  counsel  of  the 
Deity,  and  hence,  an  unusual  development  of  the  lower 
and  higher  forms  of  prophecy.  This  religious  character- 
istic, therefore,  was  significant  for  the  founding  of  a  reli- 
gion through  the  self -revelation  of  the  living  God;  4.  A 
most  important  characteristic  of  the  Semitic  religion  is, 
that  the  idea  of  God  was  not  so  intimately  and  immedi- 
ately connected  as  in  the  Indo-Germanic  religions  with  the 
concrete,  sensuous  and  visible  individual  essences  and  ele- 
ments of  nature,  but  especially  Avith  the  universal  and  ab- 
stract representations  of  the  great  powers  and  forces  which 
are  active  in  nature.  Hence,  the  names  of  God  are  mostly 
conceptions  of  attributes  which  indicate  power  and  lord- 


OLD    TESTA^fEXT   THEOLoaY.  43 

ship.  This  peculiarity  of  the  religion  of  the  Semites  was 
not  a  preservative  against  polytheism,  but  there  always 
remained  a  consciousness  of  the  exaltation  of  Deity  above 
the  human  world,  and  of  His  Almighty  power  over  all  cre- 
ated existences :  1.  Every  representation  of  the  Deity  was 
therefore  principally  found  in  the  heights  of  Heaven,  es- 
pecially in  the  stais;  2.  They  remained,  instead  of  images, 
symbols  of  the  Deity  for  a  long  time.  In  the  oldest  and 
most  simple  form  of  the  Semitic  religion  this  consciousness 
of  the  exaltation  of  the  Deity  above  the  human  world  must 
have  become  much  stronger  and  purer,  thus  rendering  this 
domain  of  religion  especially  favorable  for  the  develop- 
ment of  monotheism.^ 

With  reference  to  the  religion  of  the  patriarchs,  Kiehm 
says  that  they  worshiped  a  true  God.  In  this  respect  Abra- 
ham differed  from  the  rest  of  his  tribe,  who  were  sunken 
in  idolatry ;  in  case  he  used  the  plural  form  Elohim,  he 
did  not  understand  it  in  a  polytheistic  sense.- 

So  far  as  the  patriarchal  consciousness  of  God  is  con- 
cerned, the  first  and  most  prominent  elements  in  their  ideal 
of  Him  was  His  omnipotence,  as  appears  from  such  old 
Semitic  designations  as  El  and  perhaps,  also,  Elohnii.  El 
represented  God  as  the  strong  one,  Elohim  as  the  object  of 
fear  and  adoration.  After  Abraham  had  recognized  the 
contrast  between  his  worship  of  God  and  that  of  the  poly- 
theistic Canaanites  through  God's  self-revelation,  he  called 
Him  the  Most  High,  and  the  Creator  of  the  heavens  and 
earth,  and  worshiped  Him  as  El  Shaddai,  that  is,  as  the  God 
who  exercises  all  power  over  the  weak  gods  of  the  Canaanites. 

^Alttestamentliche  Theologie,  Halle,  188'J,  pp.  43-40..  | 

■Ibid.  p.  47. 


44         OLD    TESTA3IEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

The  patriarchs,  according  to  the  ancient  tradition,  wor- 
shiped God  under  tliese  names,  and  accordingly^  until  the 
time  of  Moses,  El  and  Shaddai  are  used  as  component 
parts  of  proper  names,  but  not  Yahwe. 

In  connection  with  the  Almighty  Power  of  God  in  the 
j^atriarchal  conception  of  Him,  we  have  the  moral  ele- 
ments. The  special  relation  which  the  patriarchs  had  to 
their  tribal  God  led  to  a  particular  feeling  of  dependence  on 
Him.  Hence,  the  God  of  the  patriarchs  entered  into  a 
close  relationship  with  His  worshipers,  and  used  His  Di- 
vine power  for  their  good.  In  connection  with  this  was 
the  consciousness  that  they  were  under  obligations  to  do 
that  which  was  pleasing  to  Him.  The  external  sign  of  this 
obligation  was  introduced  by  Abraham  as  circumcision. 

The  revelation  and  presence  of  God,  and  hence  com- 
munion W'ith  Him,  was  joined  in  the  belief  of  the  patri- 
archs wdth  a  definite  sacred  place,  and  especially  with  the 
land  of  Canaan.  The  places  which  appear  in  the  tradi- 
tion are  especially  Shechem,  Bethel,  Hebron,  and  Beer- 
sheba.  But  also  Mount  Sinai,  as  among  many  tribes  of 
Arabs,  was  considered  by  the  Israelites,  even  in  the  pre- 
Mosaie  period,  as  a  sacred  mountain  of  God.  The  wor- 
ship of  the  patriarchs  was  simple,  and  w^as  exercised  in 
the  open  air.  Old  Semitic  customs  prevailed  to  this  ex- 
tent that  in  part  great  old  trees,  stones  which  were  raised 
up  and  were  anointed  with  oil,  served  indeed,  not  as  S3'm- 
bols  of  God  himself,  but  probably  as  sacred  monuments 
and  signs  of  Divine  presence. 

In  Egypt,  the  patriarchal  religion  was  partially  cor- 
rupted through  the  worship  of  the  old  Semitic  symbol  of  a 


OLD    TESTAMENT    THEOLOGY.  45 

steer,  and  was  partially  supplanted  by  that  of  other 
gods.^ 

Eiehm  speaks  of  Moses  as  called  by  God  and  ap- 
pointed through  great  miracles  as  the  leader  of  the  people. 
All  his  laws  and  ordinances  are  given  as  the  mediator  of 
revelation  in  the  name  and  by  the  command  of  Jehovah.^ 

Schultz  differs  essentially  from  the  preceding  authors 
in  his  treatment  of  Old  Testament  theology.^  Instead  of 
dividing  his  subject  under  the  three  heads  of  Mosaism, 
Prophetism,  Judaism,  as  is  done  by  Eiehm,  he  considers, 
first :  The  historical  development  of  religion  and  morals 
among  the  Israelites,  until  the  foundation  of  the  Hasmon- 
ean  state ;  and  then,  The  religious  views  of  Israel  as  the 
result  of  the  religious  history  of  the  people. 

In  an  introduction  extending  over  seventy-seven  pages, 
he  discusses  the  idea  and  method  of  Biblical  theology,  lit- 
erary forms  in  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Old  Testament  in  connection  with  the  history 
of  religions,  the  relation  betw^een  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment, the  periods  and  sources  of  the  Old  Testament  religion, 
closing  with  a  survey  of  the  literature  of  Old  Testament 
theology. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  and  interesting  part  of 
this  introductory  matter  for  English  readers  is  the  view 
which  he  presents  in  regard  to  "sage"  and  myth  (Sage  und 
Mythus.)  He  maintains  that  the  history  of  Israel  begins 
like  all    other   histories    wdth    ''sage,"'*  and    the    religious 

Ubid.  pp.  47-52. 

^Ibid.  p.  oG. 

'■^Altteslamentliche  Theologie,  Gottingen,  1889. 

*Tlie  "writer  retains  this  term  because  it  is  really  untranslatable. 


40        OLD    TESTAMENT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

views  of  the  people  are  represented,  in  their  etarhest  stage, 
by  myths.  He  claims  that  both  "sage  "  and  myth  are 
best  adapted  as  the  media  of  Divine  revelation.  The 
"sage"  is  best  adapted,  because  it  introduces  us  at  once 
to  the  popular  heart,  and  gives  us  a  representation  of  the  in- 
most life  of  the  people  unconditioned  by  the  stern  necessi- 
ties of  a  historical  account.  He  defines  "  sage  "  as  the  spon- 
taneous effort  of  the  people  to  embody  their  historical 
characters,  before  the  literary  period  has  commenced,  by 
means  of  a  free  use  of  tradition.  In  this  effort  there  is 
no  consciousness  of  an  attempt  to  give  a  false  representa- 
tion of  the  early  annals  of  the  people;  but  certain  persons 
who  present  the  life  of  the  people  in  an  ideal  way,  are  set 
forth  as  their  ancestors.  In  such  "  sagen  "  there  is  per- 
fect freedom  from  the  conditions  of  time  and  space,  of 
heaven  and  earth.  h\  this  way  he  accounts  lor  the  great 
age  of  the  antediluvians,  and  of  many  tilings  which  in  the 
early  accounts  seem  to  be  contradictory,  or  are  accounted 
as  miraculous.  The  myth,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
"sage,"  is  the  direct  medium  of  religious  truth;  that  is, 
the  truth  is  pre-;ented  in  a  symbolical,  or  allegorical  way. 
"As  history  is  developed  from  '  sage,'  doctrine  is  devel- 
oped from  myth."^ 

In  illustration  of  the  proposition  that  "  sage  "  is  better 
adapted  than  history  as  the  medium  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Schultz  says,  that  in  Jacob-Israel  the  Israelite  is  more 
fully  portrayed  than  in  any  form  which  we  find  in  the  books 
of  Kings  or  Chronicles.  He  considers  Abraham,  whom  he 
regards  as  one  of  these  characters  which  have  arisen  from 


^AlttestamenfUche  Thtologie,  Gottingen,  188U,  pp.  16-22. 


OLD    TESTAJJEyT    TIlEOLOdV.  47 

OKI  Testament  "sage,"  as  more  instructive,  for  the  Old 
Testament  revelation,  than  all  the  kings  from  Saul  to 
Zedekiah. 

He  says  the  narrative  of  creation,  the  primitive  state, 
and  the  fall  are  myths ;  that  is,  they  are  designed  as  the 
media  of  religious  instruction. 

The  following  is  his  view  of  the  Old  Testament:  ''Gen- 
esis is  the  book  of  sacred  '  sage '  introduced  by  myths. 
Its  first  three  chapters  contain  myths  of  revelation  of  the 
most  important  kind;  the  following  eight,  mythical  ele- 
ments which  are  cast  more  in  the  form  of  '  sage.'  From 
Abraham  to  Moses  we  have  pure,  popular  'sage,'  com- 
mingled with  many  mythical  elements  wdiich  have  become 
almost  imperceptible.  From  Moses  to  David  w^e  have  his- 
tory, still  mixed  with  very  many  sagenhaft  elements, 
which  have  also,  in  part,  been  blended  with  mythical 
elements  which  cannot  be  distinguished  as  such.  From 
the  time  of  David  forward,  we  have  history  with  no  more 
sagenhaft  elements  than  are  found  everywhere  in  ancient 
historical  waiting." 

Such  views  are  more  commonly  held  by  German  evan- 
gelical Old  Testament  theologians  than  is  usually  supposed. 
Piiehm  evidently  recognizes  such  elements  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, although  he  nowhere  enters  into  a  detailed  discus- 
sion of  the  subject;  and,  from  certain  remarks  which  the 
elder  Delitzsch  dropped  to  the  writer,  it  was  evident  that 
he  had  a  place  in  his  view  of  the  Old  Testament,  at  least 
to  a  limited  extent,  for  mythical  elements.  But  Schultz 
is  the  only  man  of  evangelical  spirit  who  has  discussed 
the  presence  of  mythical  elements  with  reference  to  their 
bearing  upon  the  question  of  inspiration  and  Divine  revela- 


48         OLD    TESTAMENT   EXEOETK'AL    THEOLOGY, 

tion.  Whatever  criticism  may  be  made  upon  this  theory 
it  must  be  conceded  that  he  has  thought  the  matter' 
through,  and  has  conducted  the  investigation  in  a  sympa- 
thetic and  reverent  spirit.  There  is  no  room  in  this  theory 
for  the  gross  assumption  of  dehberate  fiction,  fraud,  or  fab- 
rication. He  simply  claims  that  God  has  made  use  of 
human  instruments  in  making  His  revelation,  ^Yithout  sus- 
pending the  laws  of  the  human  mind,  or  transporting  writers 
into  a  state  of  Divine  perfection  in  the  preparation  of  his- 
tory. The  ultimate  end  of  God  in  this  revelation  was  not 
science,  or  histor}^,  but  the  redemption  of  mankind.  In 
carrying  out  this  end,  He  has  not  given  perfect  science  or 
perfect  history,  but  the  revelation  has  been  made  in  the 
best  manner  attainable,  through  the  people  to  whom  it  was 
given,  and  with  a  complete  adaptation  to  the  end  in  view. 
The  chief  thing,  then,  is  the  redemption  and  the  life  which 
it  involves ;  everything  else  is  subsidiary.  While  there  are, 
doubtless,  difficulties  connected  with  this  view,  it  possesses 
these  advantages : 

1.  Criticism  of  the  Scriptures  can  be  conducted  with 
as  little  fear  as  that  of  any  other  book,  because  criticism  can 
never  touch  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  given;  2.  There 
-can  be  an  entirely  unbiased  exegesis,  conducted  on  purely 
grammatical  and  historical  principles,  the  question  ever 
beaig,  not  what  we  would  like  to  have  a  passage  mean,  but 
what  it  does  mean  ;  3.  There  can  be  no  gulf  between  science 
and  religion.  Let  science  make  her  investigations  perfectly 
uiitrammeled  by  theological  necessities,  without  desiring  to 
prove  a  given  thesis;  and  let  the  scientist  keep  his  hands 
off  from  the  Scriptures,  and  confess  that  he  knows  noth- 
i\\^  about  theolof^v :  4.  The    fact  of    a    revelation  will    be 


OLD    TESTAMENT    THEOLOGY,  A^ 

kept  distinct  from  the  literary  problems  which  confront  us 
in  the  Old  Testament;  5.  Such  theories  as  those  main- 
tained by  Schultz  in  regard  to  the  literary  elements  in  the 
Old  Testaments  will  be  rejected  or  modified,  not  because 
they  shock  us  or  seem  unworthy  of  a  Divine  revelation,, 
but  because  they  are  demonstrated  as  untrue.  There  cer- 
tainly should  be  a  position  found  where,  after  criticism  has 
done  its  worst,  we  can  say  with '  alll  confidence  of  the 
Scriptures  :   "They  are  the  Word  of  God." 

Monographs. — There  are  two  schools  which  hold  dia- 
metrically opposite  views  with  reference  to  the  origin  and 
history  of  the  Old  Testament  religion.  As  has  already 
been  remarked,  Eenan  maintains  that  we  find  monotheism 
among  Hebrews,  because  the  Semitic  people  had  a  genius 
for  monotheism.  On  the  other  hand,  Kuenen  and  others 
teach  that  monotheism  was  the  last  stage  in  a  historical 
development  beginning  with  fetichism,  polytheism,  and 
passing  on  up  through  monolotry  into  monotheism.  He 
holds  that  the  latter  was  the  product  of  the  prophetic 
teaching  of  the  eighth  century  B.  C.  Baethgen,  in  his 
contributions  to  the  religious  history  of  the  Semites,^  seeks 
to  show  that  both  these  views  are  untenable.  His  book 
consists  of  two  parts.  In  the  first  he  treats  of  the  world 
of  gods  of  the  heathen  Semites ;  and  in.  the  second,  of 
Israel's  relation  to  polytheism.  Under  the  first  division, 
he  shows  conclusively  that  not  one  of  the  Semitic  peoples 
was  monotheistic  in  its  early  form  of  religion,  and  that 
therefore,  the  position  assumed  by  Eenan  is  groundless. 
Koenig,  in  his  Contributions  to  a  positive  building  up 


^Btilrdge  zur  Semitifichen  Relig iousgeschichte,  Berlin,  1888. 


50  OLD  TEST  AM  EXT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

of  the  religious  history  of  Israel/  argues  against  the 
existence  of  monotheism  among  other  peoj^les  Avho  are  of 
non-Semitic  origin.  He  says  that  Max  Mueller,  in  his  lec- 
tures on  the  origin  and  growth  of  religion,  has  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  Indian  religion  as  we  find  it  in  various 
strata  of  the  Vedas,  had  advanced  to  henotheism,  in  which 
one  god  stood  out  so  strongly  in  the  entire  pantheon  before 
the  spiritual  eye  of  the  poet,  as  to  have  concealed  the  other 
gods ;  and  further,  that  this  religion  had  advanced  to  mon- 
otheism, since  in  the  songs  of  the  Yedas,  the  idea  of  one 
God  as  the  creator  and  ruler  of  the  universe  found  ex- 
pression. Koenig  does  not  find  this  position  established. 
He  sees  no  evidence  in  the  Indian  religion  of  a  personal 
God,  but  merely  of  an  abstraction  in  a  pantheistic  system, 
which  does  not  exclude  other  gods. 

The  view  is  also  held  that  among  the  Indo-Gerraanic 
peoples  we  find  evidences  of  monotheism  ;  and  also  among 
the  Hamites,  as  represented  in  the  land  of  the  pyramids. 
He  alludes  to  the  fact  that  Amenhotep  lY.,  the  tenth  ruler 
of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  declared  that  there  was  one  only 
god,  namely,  Aten,  the  sun  disk.  But  Koenig  maintains 
that  we  have  here  no  genuine  monotheism,  but  only  mater- 
ialism, which  was  really  the  deification  of  the  sun.  It  must 
be  remembered,  too,  that  this  form  of  worship  passed  away 
with  the  death  of  Amenhotep.  Koenig  concludes,  as  the  re- 
sult of  his  investigation,  that  there  was  no  monotheism 
outside  of  the  Old  Testament.  In  the  second  part  of  his 
^vork,  Baethgen  seeks  to  show  that  monotheism  among  the 
Israelites  is  not  an  outgrowth  of  polytheism.     Among  the 


^Beitmgt  zum  positiven  Aiifbau  tier  Heligioiisgeschichte  Israels. 
Leipzig,  1889. 


OLD    TFSTAJIL'XT    TIIEOLOOV.  51 

arguments  adclneed  hy  those  who  maintain  this  position, 
controverted  by  Baethgen,  are,  that  we  have  the  foHowing 
evidences  of  polytheism  as  the  original  religion  of  ancient 
Israel :  1 .  In  the  use  of  the  name  Elohim  as  a  designation 
for  God.  Bandissin  maintains  that  this  word  can  scarcely 
he  otherwise  understood  than  as  going  back  to  a  polythe- 
istic origin,  but  Baethgen  shows  that  it  is  employed  for 
Dagon  and  other  individual  deities,  and  insists  that  the 
form  is  to  be  explained  on  the  same  principle  as  other 
plurals  in  Hebrev/.  He  also  discusses  the  use  of  Baal  in 
the  formation  of  proper  names.  It  has  been  argued  by 
Kuenen  and  others  that,  as  Gideon  is  called  Jerubbal.  and 
Saul  had  a  son  Eshbaal,  and  Jonathan  a  son  Mer];ibbaal, 
and  David  a  son  by  the  name  Beeljada,  that  this  is  evi- 
dence that  at  this  time  the  Israelites  worshiped  the  god 
Baal.  Baethgen,  however,  argues  that  the  term  Baal  in 
these  names  was  equivalent  to  El,  and  was  not  used  with 
reference  to  a  Canaanitish  god.  In  support  of  this  posi- 
tion, he  quotes  the  name  Baalja,  which  he  says  cannot 
signify  anything  else  than  Jehovah  is  Lord.  In  the  time 
of  the  Prophet  Hosea,  the  Israelites  called  Jehovah  Baali, 
"My  Lord."  While  Koenig  admits  that  as  the  name  Baal 
was  associated  in  the  minds  of  later  writers  with  the 
heathen  god,  and  therefore  names  compounded  with  it 
were  transformed  by  using  another  component  part  in 
place  of  Baal,  he  argues  that  the  original  reference  could 
not  be  to  the  god  Baal.  He  alludes  to  the  fact  tliat,  per- 
haps with  one  possible  exception,  there  are  no  other  names 
of  Semitic  gods  which  are  used  as  component  parts  of 
Israelitish  names.  But  among  the  Phoenicians,  we  find 
the  names  of  many  gods  so  employed. 


52  OTA)    TESTA. VhWT  EXEGETK'AL    THEOLOGY. 

He  also  s1io\ys  that  there  is  httle  substantial  evidence 
for  the  position  held  by  some  critics,  that  in  the  names  of 
the  antediluvians  and  the  early  patriarchs  we  have  the 
names  of  heathen  deities. 

He  reaches  the  following  result  in  his  discussion :  that 
monotheism  was  not  developed  from  polytheism  by  the 
prophets,  but  that  it  was  maintained  by  the  patriarchs  and 
by  Moses  in  the  early  history  of  the  people  ;  and  that  where 
we  find  polytheism,  it  is  along  side  of  monotheism,  accord- 
ing to  the  representation  wdiich  we  find  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

Dalman  has  issued  an  interesting  discussion  of  the  Di- 
vine name  Adonai,^  in  which  he  treats  of  the  following 
subjects:  I.Baal,  Adon,  Adonai ;  2.  Adonai,  and  Adoni ; 
3.  The  sufiix  of  Adonai ;  4.  Survey  of  the  use  of  Adonai ; 
5.  The  fact  of  the  introduction  of  Adonai  for  Yahwe ;  0. 
Jewish  testimonies  concerning  the  use  of  the  name  of  God ; 
7.  History  and  significance  of  the  transition  from  Yahwe 
to  Adonai ;  S.  The  name  of  the  Lord  and  of  Christ,  and 
an  appendix  on  the  Massora  to  Adonai. 

He  reaches  the  interesting  result  that  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  third  century  before  Christ,  the  name  Adonai 
has  taken  the  place  of  Jehovah ;  wdiile  this  was  partially 
the  result  of  an  almost  superstitious  anxiety,  it  was  of  great 
importance  as  preparing  the  way  for  Christ.  The  name 
Jehovah  was  a  proper  name  with  special  reference  to  the 
God  of  Israel.  But  the  name  Adonai  was  a  general  name, 
and  adapted  to  be  the  designation  of  Him  who  was  re- 
vealed as  the  Lord  of  all  the  earth. 


^Studien  sur  Bibllschen   Theologie.     Der    Gottesname  Adonai  und 
seine  Geschichte,  Berlin,  1889. 


OLD    TESTAMEXT    TIIEOUXiV.  53 

Zschokke,  a  Eoman  Catholic  professor  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vienna,  has  written  a  work  on  the  theology  of  the 
Old  Testament  Chokma  literature,!  including  extensive 
references  to  Apocryphal  books.  While  the  work  may  be 
considered  of  interest,  it  is  not  conducted  on  scientific  prin- 
ciples, and,  therefore,  need  not  further  detain  us. 


Wer  ilogmatischc-ethischp  Lehrgehalt  der  altlestame7itlichen  Weis- 
heitsbi'chern,  Wieu,  1880. 


EXEGETICAL  THEOLOGY 


NEW  TESTAMENT. 


PRESENT    STATE 

OF 

NEW   TESTAMENT    STUDIES. 

BY 

REV.  GEORGE  H.  GILBERT, 

Professok  or  New  Testament  Lfteeatuee  and  Intekpeetation 

IN 

Chicago  Theological  Seminaky. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PHILOLOGICAL    AND    TEXTUAL. 

The  new  edition  of  Grimm's  New  Testament  Lexicon^ 
registers  some  advance  upon  the  second.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected, it  gives  the  readings  of  Westcott  and  Hort,  not  al- 
ways, however,  their  use  of  the  smooth  and  re  ugh  breath- 
ing. The  definitions  of  some  words  are  amended,  of 
others  they  are  supplemented.  One  New  Testament  word, 
formerly  overlooked,  is  treated  in  the  new^  edition.  The 
Lexicon  is  not  appreciably  enlarged.  The  additions,  even 
the  most  important  of  them,  are  brief.  A  new  proof-text 
is  given  to  show  that  (hmOv^  had  the  meaning  of  "denuo, 
iterum."  In  defining  d-onzn/jiq  reference  is  made  to  the 
Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  (xi,  3-6),  from  which  we 
learn  that  the  name  "Apostle  "  was  given  to  the  ithierant 
heralds  of  the  Gospel  in  the  second  century.  Under  ^'lafTthca 
zoj->  (>upa'^w,>  it  is  observed,  in  parenthesis,  that,  accord- 
ing to  Tischendorf,  this  expression  is  found  in  John  i,  5, 
which  seems  to  be  a  mistaken  reference.  In  speaking  of 
the  new  name  of  James  and  John,  the  conjecture  of 
Kautzsch  is  given,  who  thinks  that  it  signifies  "sons  of 
ebullition"    (filios    excandescentiie).        Under   i,3oa:7,   ii^- 


^ Lexicon  Grc£co-Latinum  in  Libros  Xovi  Testamenii.  Editio  tertia 
emendataetaucta.  LJpsiae,[In  libraria  Arnoldiana,  MDCCCLXXX- 
YIII. 


58        K£W    TESTAMEXr   EXEOETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

stead  of  finding  the  Hebrew  of  Christ's  time  spoken  of  as 
Chaldee  or  Syro-Chaldee,  we  find  the  correct  designation, 
''Western  Aramaic."  iinother  interpretation  of  i-'.,>o(Tu>z 
is  introduced  into  the  Lexicon,  namely  that  of  Warth  and 
Loclde,  who,  in  view  of  passages  in  Plato  and  Aristotle, 
understand  the  expression  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  to  mean 
*food  necessary  in  order  to  pass  comfortably  the  dawning 
day.'  Grimm  rejects  this  on  internal  grounds.  The  re- 
marks on  daddaJoz  are  modified.  He  is  not  affirmed  to  be 
the  same  as  Jude,  but  this  is  regarded  as  most  probable. 
The  old  statement  that  he  was  a  brother  of  James  the  Less 
is  dropped.  Under  Tho^  a  note  is  added  against  those 
who  make  this  a  surname  of  Silas  or  Silvanus.  The  word 
waa'^xi.  is  no  longer  derived  from  the  Hebrew  words  mean- 
ing, 'Save,  I  pray;'  but  rather  from  the  form  which  signi- 
fies, 'Save  us.'  A  considerable  number  of  these  new  ref- 
erences are  to  be  found  in  Prof.  Thayer's  Lexicon.  This 
American  edition  of  Grimm,  with  its  numerous  and  valua- 
ble notes  and  references,  and  with  its  superior  typograph- 
ical equipment,  surpasses  even  the  latest  edition  of  the 
author's  Latin  work. 

To  the  grammatical  literature  of  Hellenistic  Greek  no 
work  of  great  importance  has  been  added  during  the  past 
year.  The  posthumous  volume  of  W.  H.  Simcox,^  while 
presenting  nothing  new,  either  in  the  mode  of  treatment  or 
in  the  results,  has  the  practical  merit  of  furnishing  the 
matter  of  the  large  works  in  a  brief  form.  Its  treatment 
of  tenses  is  incomplete,  as  it  omits  the  peculiarities  of  the 
second  form    of  Conditional   Sentences.      It   falls  into    a 


^The  Language  of  the  New  Testament.      Thomas  Wliittaker,  New 
York,  1889. 


PIIlLOLOajrAL    AND    TEXTUAL.  59 

common  error  in  laying  great  emphasis  upon  the  iingram-_ 
matical  features  of  the  language  of  the  Apocalypse.  The 
peculiarities  of  grammar  in  this  book  seem  to  have  been, 
for  a  long  time,  unduly  magnified,  while  that  which  is 
normal  has  been  neglected. 

It  is  said,  in  another  quarter,^  that  there  is  no  adequate 
grammar  of  Hellenistic  Greek,  no  good  lexicon,  and  no 
philological  commentary.  This,  in  view  of  the  labors  of 
such  scholars  as  Winer  and  Buttmann,  Cremer  and  Grimm, 
Robinson  and  Thayer,  Ellicott  and  Lightfoot,  not  to  men- 
tion others,  seems  to  be  a  sweeping  statement.  The  best 
may  not  yet  have  been  produced,  doubtless  it  has  not 
been ;  yet  it  can  scarcely  be  denied  that  good  work  has 
been  done  in  all  these  departments.  The  author  of  "Essays 
1)1  Biblical  Greek,"  in  making  the  foregoing  statement,  is 
urging  the  importance  of  critical  study  of  the  Septuagint 
for  the  interpretation  of  the  New  Testament.  It  is  the 
lack  of  such  study  that  renders  the  existing  lexicons, 
grammars  and  commentaries  on  the  New  Testament  so 
defective  from  a  philological  point  of  view.  The  author 
shows  that  a  critical  study  of  the  Septuagint  would  furnish 
a  needed  check  on  the  common  tendency  of  scholars  to 
draw  too  subtle  distinctions  between  synonyms.  It  would 
do  this  chiefly  in  virtue  of  the  fact  that  it  is  a  Greek  trans- 
lation of  a  Hebrew  book  which  we  have.  Its  value  as  a 
Greek  book  is  great,  but  far  greater  its  value  as  a  Greek 
translation  of  an  extant  Hebrew  work.  By  its  glosses  on 
the  original,  its  change  of  the  Hebrew  metaphors,  and  the 
various  renderings  it  gives  of  the  same  Hebrew  word,  it 


^Essays  in  Biblical  Greek,  by  Edwin  Hatch,  M.A.,  D.D.     Heury 
Fronde,  London,  1889. 


60        yJSW    TESTAMENT   EXEOETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

jfurnishes  valuable  data  for  the  determination  of  the  mean- 
ing that  attached  to  New  Testament  words  in  the  second 
century  before  Christ.  Its  value  is  heightened  by  compar- 
ison with  Aquila,  Symmachus,  Theodotion,  and  the  Fifth 
and  Sixth  translators.  Two  canons  for  the  use  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint  are  proposed:  (1)  A  word  which  is  used  uniformly, 
or  with  few  and  intelligible  exceptions,  as  the  translation 
of  the  same  Hebrew  word,  must  be  held  to  have  in  Biblical 
Greek  the  same  meaning  as  that  Hebrew  word.  (2)  Words 
which  are  used  interchangeably  as  translations  of  the  same 
Hebrew  word,  or  group  of  cognate  words,  must  be  held  to 
have  in  Biblical  Greek  an  allied  or  virtually  identical  mean- 
ing. In  the  application  of  these  principles  to  the  study 
of  particular  New  Testament  words,  the  author  arrives  at 
some  interesting  conclusions.  Following  the  uniform  use 
of  the  Septuagint  in  all  the  canonical  books  he  gives  to 
apsT-q  the  sense  of  "glory"  or  "praise,"  never  allowing 
its  classical  meaning  of  "virtue,"  unless  perhaps  in  II 
Peter  i,  5,  whose  translation  he  does  not  discuss.  Surely 
the  Septuagint  meaning,  as  given  above,  is  inapplicable 
here.  It  is  held  that  d'.d^^oAo^  is  never,  as  a  proper  name, 
used  in  its  etymological  sense,  a  slanderer,  but  always  as 
the  equivalent  of  the  Hebrew  Satan,  an  enemy.  From 
their  use  in  the  Septuagint  it  is  inferred  that  -apa-iulr,  and 
T.arto'.iiia  were  convertible  terms,  or  at  least  that  they  were 
so  closely  allied  that  one  could  be  substituted  for  the  other; 
and  that  they  both  referred  (a)  to  common  sayings  or  pro- 
verbs, and  (b)  to  sayings  which  had  a  meaning  below  the 
surface,  and  which  required  explanation.  Hence  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  author  does  not  seek  to  find  a  comparison  in 
every  parable   and   detail  of    a    parable,     A  parable,  he 


PiriLOLOdKWL    AXD    77;A'7YML.  G1 

holds,  is  simply  a  stoiy  with  a  hidden  meaning.  Interest- 
ing for  the  study  of  three  passages  in  Matthew  (vi,  10,  vii, 
11,  XX,  15)  is  the  meaning  of  -i>wri{>u;  which  the  author  finds 
in  Sirach,  viz.  niggardly  or  grudging.  In  the  third  Es- 
sa}^  some  psychological  terms  are  discussed,  as  they  are 
used  in  the  Septuagint  and  Philo.  The  results  of  the 
discussion  are  unfavorable  to  the  fine  drawn  discrimina- 
tion between  za/>oj>/,  -•,e'>fj.a  and  C^u/rj.  They  are  capable 
of  being  interchanged  as  translations  of  the  same  Hebrew 
words.  They  cannot  be  limited  to  special  groups  of  mental 
phenomena,  with  the  exceptions  that  (a)  xafxh.a  is  most 
commonly  used  of  will  and  intention ;  and  (b)  (j>uyr;  of 
appetite  and  desire.  Study  of  Philo's  use  of  these  terms 
leads  the  author  to  conclude  that  it  is  futile  to  endeavor  to 
interpret  Paul's  psychology  by  that  of  Alexandria. 

Of  special  interest  is  the  Essay  on  Origen's  Kevision  of 
the  Septuagint  text  of  Job.  The  author  holds  it  probable, 
from  a  study  of  the  Greek  text,  that  the  book  of  Job  orig- 
inally existed  in  a  shorter  form  than  at  present ;  and  that 
in  the  interval  between  the  time  of  the  original  translation 
and  that  of  Theodotion  large  additions  were  made  to  the 
text  by  a  poet  whose  imaginative  power  was  at  least  not 
inferior  to  that  of  the  original  waiter.  This  statement  is 
suggestive  as  compared  with  what  has  been  said,  especially 
by  some  German  writers,  of  the  evident  inferiority  of  the 
Elihu  section. 

Another  line  of  work  that  is  important  in  its  bear- 
ing upon  the  text  of  the  New  Testament  is  the  study  of  the 
Agrapha.^     The  Agrapha   are   defined   to  be  those  words 


^Agrapha,  aussercanonische  EcangtUenfrafjmenle  in  moglichshr 
Vollstdndigkeit  susa>nmengestelJ  und  quellenkritisch  unfersncht,  von 
P.  prim.  Alfred  Resell,  Leipzig,  1889. 


62  XEW   TESTAJ/hWT  IJXEdETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

of  the  Lord  and  related  sayings,  preserved  in  the  early 
Christian  literature,  which  are  contained  neither  in  the 
Canonical  Gospels  nor  in  -the  known  Apocryphal  Gos- 
pels. The  criteria  for  testing  the  genuineness  of  the 
Agrapha  are:  (I)  the  trustworthiness  of  the  authors  citing 
the  words ;  (2)  the  concurrence  of  several  authors  in  the 
citation ;  (3)  the  stahilit}^  of  the  citation  in  the  same 
author;  (4)  absence  of  any  ''tendency"  in  regard  to  the 
content ;  (5)  definiteness  of  the  formula  of  citation ;  (6) 
linguistic  character,  particularly,  relationship  with  the 
synoptic  Gospels,  presence  of  Hebraisms,  and  variant 
readings  that  presuppose  a  Hebrew  original ;  and  (7)  the 
content  in  three  particulars — relation  to  the  canonical  words 
of  the  Lord,  agreement  with  the  New  Testament  doctrines, 
the  possibility^  of  a  satisfactory  exegesis  and  a  significant 
thought-content.     Applying  these  tests,  the  author   finds 

63  Agrapha,  in  290  citations  by  85  writers  (or  writings), 
besides  a  number  which  are  discussed  in  appendices.  A 
critical  study  of  the  patristic  citations  from  the  Gospels 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  those  prior  to  Clement  of 
Alexandria  and  Irenaeus  reveal  a  text  which  is  essentially^ 
different  from  the  Canonical.  Few  of  these  early  citations 
can  be  definitely  ascribed  to  either  of  the  Synoptists.  There 
are  many  variants  not  found  in  any  one  of  them.  The 
author's  theory  is  that  these  citations  were  made  from  a 
pre-Canonical  form  of  the  Gospel,  namely  from  the  Hebrew 
writing  which  served  as  the  chief  source  for  all  of  the  Can- 
onical Gospels.  He  accepts  the  results  of  Holtzmann  and 
Weiss,  that  Mark's  Gospel  was  the  earliest,  that  there  vras 
a  Hebrew  writing  which  contained  chiefly  the  sayings  of 
Jesus,  and  that  our  Matthew  and  Luke  were  derived  mainly 


PiniA)lA)GirAL    AND    TEXTIWI..  63 

from  these  two  sources.  Tins  pre-Canonical  Hebrew  writ- 
ing was  that  so  frequently  mentioned  in  the  early  Church 
as  the  Gospel  of  Matthew.  The  author  thinks  this  was  in 
Biblical  Hebrew,  not  in  Aramaic. 

In  the  exegetical  treatment  of  the  Agrapha,  the  princi- 
pal means  for  determining  the  sense  are  the  consideration 
of  Old  Testament  parallels,  echoes  in  the  Canonical 
Gospels,  parallels  in  the  doctrinal  books  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament and  in  the  patristic  literature,  the  context  in  which 
the  respective  Agrapha  stand,  j^atristic  epexegesis  and 
comparison  with  the  apocryphal  literature.  The  argument 
for  genuineness  based  upon  the  parallelism  between  an 
Agraphon  and  the  Scriptures  seems  sometimes  to  be  un- 
duly pressed.  For  instance,  the  saving,  "He  who  is  near 
me  is  near  the  fire,  and  he  who  is  far  from  me  is  far  from 
the  Kingdom,"  is  thought  to  be  confirmed  as  genuine  by 
Luke  xii-19,  "  I  came  to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth;"  Luke 
iii-16,  "He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
Avith  fire;"  Mark  ix-49,  "For  every  one  shall  be  salted 
with  fire;"  Mark  xii-34,  "Thou  art  not  far  from  the 
Kingdom  of  God."  But  excepting  the  last  quotation  the 
parallelism  consists  simply  in  the  common  use  of  the  word 
fire.  This,  however,  is  less  significant  than  the  difference 
of  meaning  attached  to  the  word.  Christ  nowhere  likens 
himself  to  fire ;  and  the  use  of  the  word  in  quite  a  differ- 
ent sense  establishes  nothing.  Take  another  Agraphon, 
"Blessed  is  ]ie  through  whom  the  good  cometh."  This  is 
thought  to  be  surprisingly  confirmed  by  Eom.  iii-S,  "Let 
us  do  evil  that  good  may  come."  One  saying  not  found  in 
any  other  catalogue  of  the  Agrapha  is  this :  "Cleave  ui^to 
the  saints,  for  those  who  cleave  unto  them  shall  be  sancti- 


64        NEW    TESTAMENT    KXFJrETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

fied."  This  is  regarded  as  uncjuestionably  genuine,  cliietiy 
in  view  of  a  certain  similarity  between  it  and  the  thought 
of  I  Cor.  vii,  14  and  liev,  xxii,  11.  These  passages,  however, 
seem  to  bear  only  a  remote  resemblance  to  the  Agraphon 
in  question.  Many  of  the  sixty-three  Agrapha  might  be 
more  easily  accounted  for,  it  would  seem,  as  unimportant 
variations  of  canonical  sayings  than  as  original.  Sacli 
are  for  instance,  the  following:  ''If  ye  did  not  keep  the 
little,  who  will  give  you  the  great?"  "He  who  giveth  is 
blest  above  him  who  receiveth." 

iVmong  the  most  important  of  these  traditional  sayings, 
both  as  to  the  thought  and  the  external  evidence,  are  these  : 
"Sufficient  unto  the  laborer  is  his  good,"  the  correlate  of 
Luke  X,  T;  "Become  approved  money  changers;"  "Jesus, 
seeing  a  man  at  work  on  the  Sabbath  day,  said  to  him.  If 
thou  knowest  what  thou  doe^t,  blessed  art  thou,but  if  thou 
knowest  not,  thou  art  cursed  and  a  transgressor  of  the 
law;"  and,  "The  Lord,  having  been  asked  by  on6  when 
His  Kingdom  should  come,  said,  when  the  two  shall  be 
one,  and  that  without  as  that  within,  and  the  male  with 
the  female,  neither  male  nor  female."  One  important 
feature  of  the  work  of  Eesch  is  the  full  text  of  the  Agrapha, 
including  at  least  the  formula  of  citation,  and  sometimes 
something  more  of  the  context.  x\ll  the  patristic  passages 
are  cited  in  which  a  particular  Agraphon  is  found.  In 
this  respect,  as  well  as  in  many  others,  the  volume  of 
Eesch  is  the  most  complete  that  exists,  and  is  of  perma- 
nent value. 


^Word   Studies   in   the  New  Testa  nent,  by  Marvin  E.  Vincent,  D. 
D.  Vol.  ii.     The  Writings  of  Jolm^    Scribner,  New  York,  1889. 


PllILOLOaiCAL    AM)    TEXTUAL.  65 

ings  of  John.     'Hie   general  features   of  this  unique  work 
were  mentioned  in  vol.  v  of  CuiToif  Dlscicssions. 

The  literature  of  New  Testament  textual  criticism  has 
been  enriched  bj'  the  publication  of  the  second  volume  of 
the  Prolegomena^  to  Tischendorf's  Greek  testament.  This 
opens  with  a  supplement  to  the  first  volume,  viz.  a  list  of 
twenty-one  uncial  fragments,  three  of  which  were  discovered 
by  the  author,  Dr.  C.  1\.  Gregory.  This  is  followed  by  a  des- 
cription based  upon  wdde  and  careful  personal  observation, 
of  twenty-three  hundred  and  fifty-two  Minuscules  (Scrive- 
ner's Introduction  notices  only  thirteen  hundred)  and 
twelve  hundred  and  one  Lectionaries.  The  book  embodies 
the  labor  of  nearh'  a  decade.  In  its  description  of  MSS.  it 
is  a  model  of  exactness  and  completeness.  In  the  author- 
ity which  comes  from  personal  examination  of  MSS.  it  sur- 
passes all  former  works. 


^Prolegomena   scripsit   Caspariis   "Reuatus  Gregory  additis  cuiis 
Ezrae  Abbot.  Pars  Altera.  Lipsiae.  T.  C.  Hinricli.  1890. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

NEW    TESTAMENT    INTRODUCTION. 

No  original  contributions  have  been  made  during  the 
past  year  in  the  English  language,  so  far  as  we  know,  to 
the  department  of  New  Testament  Introduction.  A  brief 
summation  of  the  results  of  criticism  in  this  branch  of 
Biblical  investigation  is  given  in  the  "Theological  Educa- 
tor."^ Yet  this  work  is  not  wholly  objective  ;  the  author's 
own  views  are  frequently  given,  incidentally,  or  in  direct, 
though  brief,  statement.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the 
author  so  often  passes  a  point  without  expressing  his  own 
opinion.  For  instance,  he  expresses  no  decided  opinion 
as  to  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse,  or  the  date  of  its  com- 
position Some  of  the  views  advanced  as  the  author's  own 
are  noticeable  : 

For  instance  he  says  (p.  2)  that  the  Gospel  was  desig 
nated  according  to  the  special  messenger  or  mode  of  its 
delivery,  and  thus  we  find  Paul  speaking  of  "my  Gospel" 
(Eom.  ii  16).  Again,  that  our  Gospel  (Matthew)  is  not  a 
translation  but  an  original  may  be  accepted  as  one  of  the 
ascertained  conclusions  of  criticism.  Compare  with  this 
statement  the  language  of  Zahn,  Geschichte  des  neutesta- 
mentlichen  Canons,    Seite  896.     In  speaking  of  the    early 


.1/1   Introduction   to  the  New   Testament.     By  Marcus  Dods.  D.  D. 
AVLittaker,  New  York,  1888. 


XEW    TIJSTAMENT   IXTliODrcTIoy.  f,; 

Eoman  Church,  the  author  takes  the  ground  tliat  the  ac- 
count given  in  the  Acts  (xxviii  17)  of  Paul's  reception  l)y 
the  Jews  in  Rome  is  such  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  suppose 
that  there  existed  before  his  arrival  any  large  number  of 
Christians  in  that  city,  or  any  organized  Church.  Now 
Paul's  reception  by  the  Jews  is  indeed  evidence  that  the 
Jewish  population  of  Rome  had  not  been  deeply  alfected 
by  the  Gospel ;  but  it  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  evidence 
that  there  were  not  many  Christians  and  an  organized 
Church  among  the  'Gentiles  of  the  capital.  Indeed,  the 
Epistle  itself  imphes  that  the  Church  at  Rome  was  a 
strong  and  aggressive  spiritual  community  (Rom.  i  8). 
Paul's  praise  of  the  condition  of  the  Roman  Christians  in- 
volves a  good  degree  of  prosperity,  and  prosperity  in  Paul's 
thouglit  would  surely  involve  growth  of  the  church  in  num- 
bers and  in  graces   (ii  8,  xv  14). 

The  more  recent  view  regarding  the  so-called  Epistle  to 
the  Ephesians  is  modified  as  follows  (p.  123).  Paul  writes 
a  letter  which  will  equally  benefit  Ephesians,  Laodiceans 
and  Colossians,  and  bids  Tychicus  carry  it  to  the  three 
churches,  while  he  instructs  the  Colossians  to  receive  it 
from  Laodicea.  But  where  is  the  evidence  that  the  Epis- 
tle was  designed  for  these  three  churches  in  particular? 
And  what  grounds  make  it  probable  that  it  was  intended 
for  Ephesus  at  all?  In  some  respects  the  statements  in 
this  work  seem  inadequate.  For  instance,  in  speaking  of 
the  external  evidence  for  the  Johannean  authorship  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  no  reference  is  made  to  Papias,  Ignatius, 
Barnabas,  Clement  and  Hernias.  Again,  in  speaking  of 
the  Apocalypse,  the  author  does  not  allude  to  the  explicit 
and  credible  evidences  of  the  earlv  Church  bearing  on  the 


68        X£\V  TESTAMEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

date  of  composition ;  and  while  he  gives  a  half-page  to 
Harnack's  feeble  arguments  against  the  Johannean  author- 
ship of  the  Apocalypse,  he  refers  in  a  single  brief  general 
sentence  to  the  well-nigh  decisive  testimony  of  the  early 
Church.  This  is  not  the  right  proportion  of  things.  It  is 
in  the  interest  of  science  to  treat  all  evidence  both  pro  and 
con  in  a  manner  befitting  its  inherent  impoitance. 

The  literature  of  the  New  Testament  Canon  has  been 
enriched  during  the  past  year  by  the  monumental  work  of 
Zahn.^  This  writer  begins  his  investigations  with  a  study 
of  the  New  Testament  at  the  close  of  the  second  century.  Har- 
nack-  admits  that  this  time  is  not  badly  chosen.  The  inves- 
tigation can  profitably  proceed  backward  and  forward  from 
this  point.  But  Harnack  would  prefer  the  date  230  or 
240  as  a  starting  point,  if  he  wished  to  begin  investiga- 
tions at  the  time  w4ien  the  New  Testament  Canon  was  com- 
plete. Zahn  does  not  treat  separately  of  the  attitude  of 
different  churches  toward  the  New  Testament,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  Syrian  churches,  but  subjects  all  to 
a  common  treatment.  His  critic  urges  that  in  this  way 
the  characteristic  element  in  the  attitude  of  the  different 
churches  is  erased  and  the  significance  of  the  opposition  of 
individual  churches,  as  that  at  Alexandria,  is  disturbed. 
The  charge  of  obscurity  and  self-contradictoriness  is  made 
upon  the  author's  statement  of  his  aim.  The  second  part 
of  this  is  made  without  good  ground.     Zahn  distinguishes 


^Geschichte  des  neutestamentUchen  Canons,  ErsterBand:  Das  Xeue 
Testament  vor  Origenes.  Erste  Halfte,  Erlangen,  1888;  Zweite 
Halfte,  Erlangen  und  Leipzig,  1889. 

^Das  Neue  Testament  um  das  Jahr  200.  Theodor  Zahn's  Gescli- 
ichte  &c,,  erster  Band,  erste  Halfte,  geprilft:  Freiburg,  1889. 


NEW  TESTA  ME  NT   IXTUODrcTION.  69 

between  the  history  of  dogma  and  the  history  of  Church 
hfe.  He  admits  that  the  attribute  of  hohness,  of  Divine  au- 
thority, is  inseparably  connected  with  the  conception  of  the 
Bible ;  and  holds  that  one  can  speak  with  full  historic 
right  of  a  New^  Testament  only  there  where  that  attribute 
is  applied  to  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament.  He  holds 
that  where  w^e  find  the  conceptions  of  holiness,  supernat- 
ural Divine  origin  and  dignity,  applied  to  WTitings  of  the 
Apostolic  age,  we  have  a  sure  proof  that  a  New  Testament 
existed  which  was  more  or  less  equally  esteemed  with  the 
Old  Testament.  But  at  the  same  time  he  holds  that  it 
w^ould  be  a  sad  mistake  to  confound  the  history  of  these 
attributes  with  the  history  of  the  thing  wdiose  attributes 
they  are.  The  thing  in  question,  a  collection  of  writings 
which  we  call  the  New  Testament,  writings  scattered  in  all 
parts  of  the  Church ;  an  actual  discrimination  of  these 
from  other  writings,  and  a  mighty  influence  of  the  same 
upon  the  Church  life — this  must  be  older  than  the  fixed 
coinage  of  the  honorary  titles  and  dogmatic  conceptions 
wdiieh  were  first  derived  from  these  facts.  He  does  not 
propose  to  write  a  history  of  these  dogmatic  conceptions, 
but  rather  of  the  development  which  they  pre-suppose.  In 
the  Introduction  of  his  work  Zahn  presents  an  argument  to 
prove  that  the  Montanists,  while  recognizing  an  Old  Testa- 
ment and  a  New  Testament,  produced  a  third,  a  "newest" 
Testament,  which  was  higher  in  authority  than  either  of 
the  others.  It  is  said  that  after  the  death  of  Maximilla 
(179  A.  D.),  who  had  declared  that  another  prophetess 
would  not  arise,  it  was  felt  to  be  high  time  that  the  oracles, 
which  had  apparently  been  begun  in  the  lifetime  of  the 
prophets,  should  be  put  in   writing.     Various  collections 


70        XEW    TESTAMEXT  EXEOETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

arose.  An  Asiatic  pastor  of  unknown  name  cites  such  a 
collection  in  the  year  192  or  193,  which  a  certain  Asterius 
Urbanus  had  caused  to  be  made.  Now,  according  to  this 
pastor,  the  Montanists  referred  to  what  the  Spirit  said  in 
Asterius  Urbanus  just  as  Christians  spoke  of  what  the 
Lord  said  in  the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew.  Since  this 
is  the  only  evidence  advanced  for  a  Montanist  Testament 
at  this  time  there  seems  some  ground  for  Harnack's  state- 
ment that  Zahn  has  been  able  to  create  a  "newest"  Testa- 
ment out  of  nothing,  and  out  of  nothing  to  call  forth  wit- 
nesses for  the  existence  of  the  New  Testament. 

Zahn  thinks  that  the  Montanist  movement  intensified 
in  the  Church  the  consciousness  that  the  revelation  made 
by  Christ  and  His  disciples  was  closed,  and  that  the  docu- 
ments of  the  revelation  possessed  a  peculiar  dignity.  Har- 
nack's position  is  that  the  Montanist  movement  produced 
this  consciousness,  instead  of  intensifying  a  consciousness 
that  already  existed. 

According  to  Zahn,  the  New  Testament  was  equally  es- 
teemed with  the  Old  throughout  the  entire  Catholic  Church 
about  the  year  200.  This  truth  is  so  generally  admitted 
that  he  does  not  seek  to  prove  it,  but  rathei:  to  illustrate 
the  mode  of  thinking  of  that  time  by  a  study  of  the  names 
applied  to  the  Bible  and  its  principal  parts.  Of  this  study 
Harnack  affirms  (p.  34)  that  it  suppresses  some  material 
and  mistakes  other.  He  denies,  for  instance,  that  the 
words  rpo.(pTi^  Ypa(po.i  were,  in  180  A.  D.,  so  firmly  attached 
to  the  New  Testament  as  to  the  Old,  and  affirms  that  in 
Alexandria  at  least  the  words  were  used  of  writings  out- 
side of  the  Bible.  A  certain  weakness  in  regard  to  the 
fundamental  position  seems    to    be    shown  now  and  then. 


^''E^V   TIJSTAMEXT   INTRODUi'TTOX.  71 

For  instance,  the  author  affirms,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the 
writings  attributed  to  the  x\postles  and  their  contempora- 
ries were  regarded  throughout  the  entire  Catholic  Church 
as  a  corpus  of  holy  writings.  The  entire  New  Testament 
literature  appears  as  a  defined  holy  territory  whose  limits 
could  not  be  enlarged  without  sin  (pp.  111-118).  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  said  to  be  plain  that  the  content  of  the 
New  Testament  was  different  in  different  churches  (p.  111:). 
The  collection  of  New  Testament  VNritings  had  by  no  means 
the  completeness  of  limitation  that  pertained  to  the  Old 
Testament  collection.  The  New  Testament  of  that  time 
was  not  a  definitely  limited  whole  with  immovable  bound- 
aries. Z aim's  investigation  of  the  four- fold  Gospel,  as  it 
stood  at  the  close  of  the  second  century,  leads  him  to  a 
full  endorsement  of  Irenaeus,  who  said  of  the  four  Gospels 
that  they  were  the  pillars  which  from  immemorial  times 
had  borne  the  roof  of  the  Catholic  Church.  They  were 
unique  in  the  churches  of  Irentieus'  homeland  as  well  as  in 
those  over  which  he  presided.  So  also  were  they  in  Rome, 
Carthage,  Alexandria,  and  Antioch.  Harnack  admits 
that  this  position  is  in  the  main  right.  He  himself  holds 
that  the  collection  of  four  Gospels  was  firmly  settled  by 
the  year  200 ;  but  he  would  modify  the  rhetorical  language 
of  Irenaeus  more  than  Zahn  does.  The  position  of  the  four 
Gospels  was  firmer  in  Carthage  and  Lyon,  says  Harnack, 
than  in  Alexandria.  In  the  latter  place  the  Gospel  of  the 
Egyptians  had  but  just  been  removed  from  Church  use  in 
the  year  200.  It  is  also  held  that  the  formula  in  use  in  the 
Western  Church,  "the  Lord  says  in  the  Gospel,"  points  to 
an  authority  above  the  Gospels,  i.  e.,  the  word  of,  Christ. 
This  word  of  Christ  was  chiefly,  though  not  solely,  to  be 


72        XUW    TESTAMEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

found  in  the  four  Gospels.  But  this  view  of  Harnack  is 
open  to  objection. 

The  view  of  Zahn  regarding  the  fifth  book  of  our  New 
Testament  is  that  no  one  questioned  its  firm  position  in 
the  Canon,  and  that  no  one  exaggerated  its  content  in  a 
noticeable  manner.  Harnack  modifies  this  statement  by 
showing  that  the  Acts  were  not  considered,  in  Egypt,  as 
the  sole  source  of  the  Apostolic  history,  though  they  were 
so  regarded  in  the  West ;  and  that  the  content  of  the  book 
was  sometimes  exaggerated.  Clement  of  Alexandria  used 
the  Johannean  Acts  of  Leucius  and  the  tradition  of  Mat- 
thew by  the  side  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  also  the 
Preaching  of  Peter.  As  to  the  statement  that  the  content 
was  not  considerably  exaggerated,  Harnack  refers  to  the 
language  of  the  Muratorian  Canon,  which  describes  the 
book  as  "acta  omnium  apostolorum,"  and  to  the  singular 
language  of  Irenaeus. 

That  the  xVpocalypse  had  an  established  place  in  the 
Canon  at  the  close  of  the  second  century  is  conceded  by 
Harnack,  but  he  disagrees  with  Zahn  regarding  the- Epis- 
tles of  John.  The  latter  holds  that  all  three  were  in  the 
New  Testament  of  the  entire  Church,  while  the  former  de- 
nies that  the  third  Epistle  stood  in  any  collection  known  to 
us.  Touching  the  opposition  to  the  writings  of  John,  Zahn 
and  Harnack  are  decidedly  at  variance  with  each  other. 
According  to  Zahn,  the  chief  motive  of  the  Alogi  in  opposing 
the  writings  attributed  to  John  was  hostility  to  Montanism, 
while  Harnack  holds  that  it  was  their  hostility  to  Gnosticism. 
Zahn  minimizes  the  value  of  the  testimony  of  Epiphan- 
ius,  while  Harnack  makes  this  testimony  his  starting-point. 
Consequently  Zahn  regards  the  name  Alogi  as  an  inappro- 


yjJW    TKSTAMEXT   IXTRODUCTloX.  73 

priate  invention  of  Epiphanius,  while  Harnack  maintains 
tliat  it  points  to  their  fundamental  character.  His  strong- 
est historical  snpport  for  this  is  the  fact  that  the  x\logi  at- 
tributed the  Fourth  Gospel  to  Cerinthus,  who  was  a 
Gnostic.  As  these  writers  differ  widely  in  the  criticism  of 
the  Alogi,  so  also  in  the  inferences  which  they  draw  con- 
cermng  the  Canon  of  that  time.  Zahn  says  that  the  Alogi 
hear  witness  that  the  Johannean  writings  were  in  the  New 
Testament,  in  that  they  declared  these  writings  unworthy 
of  the  Church.  They  did  not  deny  the  historical  right  of 
these  books  to  a  place  in  the  New  Testament,  but  they  ob- 
jected on  the  ground  of  internal  evidence.  Harnack,  on 
the  other  hand,  afiirms  that  when  the  Alogi  appeared  (date 
uncertain),  there  was  not  a  fixed  Christology  in  the  Asiatic 
Church,  nor  a  complete  New  Testament.  There  was 
opposition  to  the  Gospel  of  John  on  the  ground  that  it 
aided  Gnosticism,  and  also  did  not  accord  with  the  old 
Gospels.  Hence  there  was  no  sure  tradition  which  as- 
cribed these  writings  to  the  Apostle  John,  But  at  this 
point  he  does  not  seem  to  break  the  argument  of  Zahn. 
It  needs  no  proof  that  the  Alogi  had  not  a  complete  New 
Testament,  and  that  they  did  not  accept  the  tradition 
which  ascribed  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  the  Apocalypse  to 
John.  But  this  does  not  prove  that  the  Church  of  Asia 
Minor  may  not,  in  its  dominant  elements,  have  accepted 
the  Gospel  and  Apocalypse.  The  views  of  the  Alogi,  whom 
Hippolytus  counts  as  heretics,  views  which  soon  disap- 
peared entirely,  are  not  to  be  attributed  to  the  Asiatic 
Church  in  general.  Concerning  the  Epistles  of  Paul  and 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  Zahn  concludes,  first,  that  the 
recognition  of  Paul  as  the  Apostle  throughout  the  Catholic 


74        KFW  TESTAMEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Church  must  have  heen  a  result  of  the  use  of  his  Epistles 
in  the  Church.  But  this  statement  does  not  seem  to  con- 
tain the  whole  truth.  The  fact  that  Paul  was  the  founder 
of  most  of  the  great  churches,  or,  if  not  founder,  the  most 
important  agent  in  founding,  may  quite  as  well  be  as- 
sumed to  have  given  rise  to  the  peculiar  dignity  of  apostle- 
ship  which  attached  to  him,  as  the  fact  that  his  epistles 
were  read  in  churches.  Second,  a  collection  of  thirteen 
Pauline  Epistles  was  everywhere  in  use  in  the  Church. 
No  distinction  was  made  between  the  letters  to  churches 
and  the  Pastoral  Epistles.  In  reply  to  this,  Harnack  calls 
attention  to  the  fact  that  Hieronymus,  Chrysostom  and 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia  had  to  defend  the  canonicity  of 
Philemon,  and  Theodore  that  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles  as 
well ;  and  also  to  the  fact  that  the  Muratorian  Canon  re- 
fers to  the  private  letters  of  Paul  as  though  they  had  been 
sanctified  in  Christian  use.  This  suggests  that  they  had 
not  always  enjoyed  the  same  consideration  as  the  other 
Epistles.  Two  other  conclusions  are,  that  there  were  some 
in  the  Church  who  accepted  the  Epistles  to  the  Laodiceans 
and  that  to  the  Alexandrians,  and  that  the  belief  in  the 
Pauline  authorship  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  not 
exactly  co-extensive  with  the  belief  that  it  was  canonic. 
With  regard  to  II  Peter  and  James,  Zahn  holds  that 
they  were  in  the  Canon  at  the  close  of  the  second  century, 
Harnack  that  they  appear  first  from  the  time  of  Origen. 
The  author  objects  vigorously  and  with  good  ground 
to  the  view  that  the  Canon  was  a  conscious  product  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  second  century.  He  also  shows  the  in- 
sufliciency  of  the  theory  that  the  writings  of  our  New 
Testament  were  gathered  together  simply  on  the  basis  that 


XEW    TESr.UII'JXT    rXTBODrcTIOX.  75 

they  were  believed  to  be  of  Apostolic  origin.  From  2n(i 
A.  D.  tlie  author  moves  backward,  and  in  the  second  book 
of  his  elaborate  work  he  investigates  the  condition  of  the 
New  Testament  at  the  middle  of  the  second  centur}^ 
chiefly  as  it  is  suggested  in  the  writings  of  Justin  ^Fartyr, 
Marcion,  and  the  schools  of  Valentine  and  Basilides. 
He  holds  that  we  find  essentially  the  same  mass  of  apos- 
tolic writings  in  Church  use  and  authoritative  position  at 
the  middle  of  the  second  century,  which,  at  the  close  of  that 
century,  began  to  be  called  the  New  Testament.  The 
Church  had  at  that  time  a  Gospel  which  was  composed  of 
our  four  Gospels  and  included  no  other  writing.  It  had  also  a 
collection  of  Pauline  Epistles,  which  embraced  the  Pas- 
toral Letters.  The  Acts  of  Luke  were  not  less  at  home 
in  the  churches.  The  Apocalypse  of  John  was  regarded 
as  a  document  of  divine  revelation  and  a  work  of  the 
Apostle  John.  Of  the  other  writings  which,  between  170- 
220  A.  D.  were  recognized  as  holy,  partly  everywhere  and 
partW  in  some  churches,  the  scanty  sources  of  the  middle 
of  the  century  give  little  information.  That  is  to  say,  the 
author  finds  evidence  that  the  Catholic  Church,  at  the  mid- 
dle of  the  second  century,  used  as  authoritative  nineteen  of 
the  twenty-seven  books  which  constitute  our  present  New 
Testament.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  so-called  Cath- 
olic Epistles  and  the  Hebrews  were  so  regarded.  Eighteen 
of  these  nineteen  writings  constituted  two  collections,  in 
the  time  of  Marcion,  one  of  the  four  Gospels,  and  the 
other  of  thirteen  Pauline  Epistles.  The  year  120  A.  D.  is 
given  as  the  approximate  date  before  which  these  collec- 
tions were  made.  In  studying  the  origin  of  these  collec- 
tions, it  is  argued  that  the  Apostles  could  not  have  had  the 


76        XEW  TESTAJ\IEXT   EXEGETJCAL    THEOLOGY. 

great  autliority  wliicli  they  did  have,  say  in  the  year  100 
A.  D.,  had  there  not  been  writings  in  which  the  congrega- 
tions believed  that  they  heard  the  voice  of  the  Apostles. 
Here  and  there  the  Apostolic  authority  may  have  been  due 
m  part  to  the  testimony  of  a  pupil  of  the  Apostles,  as  in 
the  case  of  Papias,  but  this  sort  of  influence  must  have 
been  relatively'  small.  The  conclusion  that  there  was  in  the 
time  of  Clement  and  Ignatius  a  collection  of  thirteen 
Pauline  Epistles,  is  reached  in  the  followmg  way :  •  In 
Clement,  Polj'carp  and  Ignatius  we  find  references,  direct 
or  indirect,  to  Piomans,  I  Corinthians,  Philippians,  I  and 
II  Thessalonians,  Ephesians  and  the  Pastoral  Epistles. 
No  competent  person,  it  is  argued,  will  doubt  that  a  col- 
lection w4iicli  contained  the  most  questionable  portions  of 
that  group  of  writings  that  Marcion  found  extant,  and  even 
those  that  Marcion  rejected,  was  co-terminous  ^vith  that 
which  Marcion  found  extant,  and  which  the  Church  in  later 
times  preserved.  That  is,  the  collection  contained  thirteen 
letters. 

As  to  the  time  in  which  the  collection  arose,  the  author 
thinks  of  the  year  SO  or  85  A.  D.  For  it  w^as  before  1)6 
A.  D.,  the  date  of  Clement's  letter  to  the  Corinthians,  and 
after  the  composition  of  the  Acts.  Had  the  collection  ex- 
isted when  Luke  composed  the  Acts,  he  w^ould  have  used 
its  rich  material.  It  is  thought  probable  that  this  collec- 
tion was  made  in  Corinth.  It  could  not  have  originated 
in  Ephesus  or  Asia  Minor  in  general,  because  of  its  er- 
roneous assumption  that  the  so-called  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians w^as  actually  sent  to  the  church  at  Ephesus.  It  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  it  was  made  in  Corinth  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  stood  at  its 


XEW   TESTAJIEXT    jyTnoDVCTloy.  77 

head,  and  in  view  of  the  central  position  of  the  Corinthian 
Church.  It  is  thought  that  the  principle  according  to 
T^'hich  the  collection  was  made,  was  the  edification  of  the 
churches.  For  the  formation  of  the  Gospel  collection  the 
author  lays  emphasis  on  the  absence  of  competing  docu- 
ments, and  on  the  influence  of  John.  In  regard  to  books 
Avhich  did  not  belong  to  either  of  these  collections,  special 
attention  is  given  to  show  that  the  Apocal3'pse  was  received 
in  the  Asiatic  churches  in  the  time  of  Papias,  Polycarp 
and  other  pupils  of  John,  as  a  work  by  the  author  of  the 
fourth    Gospel. 

At  the  other  pole  from  Zalm,  stands  Pfleiderer.^  His 
voluminous  work  on  Primitive  Christianity,  its  Writ- 
ings and  Teachings,  while,  according  to  the  author,  it 
differs  from  Baur  in  maintaining  that  the  opposition 
between  Gentile  and  Jewish  Christianity  was  not  the 
active  principle  in  the  development  of  the  post-apostolic 
literature,  is  constructed  on  the  principles  of  criticism  used 
by  Baur,  and  leads  to  results  concerning  the  origin  of  the 
New  Testament  literature  akin  to  those  of  the  founder  of 
the  Tubingen  school.  The  fundamental  position  of  the 
author  is  that  the  Gentile  Christian  Church  was  planted, 
through  the  preaching  of  Paul,  in  a  soil  which  the  pre- 
Christian  Hellenism  had  long  since  prepared  for  it.  Hence 
the  two  factors  out  of  whose  union  the  peculiarity  of  Gen- 
tile Christianity  from  its  beginning  is  naturally  explained, 
are  this  Hellenism  and  the  preaching  of  Paul.  Paul's  the- 
ology had  two  roots,  a  Jewish-Pharisaic  and   a  Hellenic. 

In  the  post-apostolic  period,  the  Hellenic  side  was  de- 


^Das  Urchrislenthiim,  seine  Schn'ften  und  Lehren.  Berlin,  \l 
Cf.  Current  Discussions,  Vol.  vi,  1889,  p.  154. 


78        XFW  TESTAMENT  EXEOETll'AL    THEOLOGY. 

veloped  to  the  repression  of  the  Jewish.  As  characteriz- 
ing the  methods  of  the  author,  a  part  of  his  Introduction 
will  be  most  instructive,  in  which  he  treats  of  the  resur- 
rection. Out  of  the  hints  of  the  oldest  Gospel  (it  is  as- 
sumed that  Mark's  is  the  oldest  and  the  foundation  of  all 
the  other  Canonical  Gospels,  not  excepting  John)  we  gain 
as  probable  two  results  :  (1 )  that  the  disciples  lost  their 
faith  when  Jesus  was  put  to  death,  and  fled  to  Galilee,  their 
home ;  (2)  that  the}^  Peter  first  of  all,  saw  in  Galilee  Him 
Avhom  they  had  believed  dead,  and  in  consequence  of  this 
vision  they  had  gathered  the  scattered  band.  If  the  repre- 
sentation of  Luke,  according  to  w^hich  the  disciples  re- 
mained together  and  saw  Jesus  in  Jerusalem  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  resurrection-day,  is  historically  correct,  then  it  is 
incomprehensible  how  the  oldest  Gospel  should  speak  in  the 
express  words  of  Jesus  about  a  scattering  of  the  disciples, , 
and  about  seeing  them  first  in  Galilee.  The  representation 
of  Luke,  the  author  holds,  is  due  to  the  feeling  of  later  times, 
that  the  Apostles,  the  heroes  of  the  faith,  could  not  have 
been  so  weak  as  reported,  and  moreover,  men  felt  the  need  of 
confirming  the  reality  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  of  which 
they  were  convinced,  by  striking  signs  done  at  the  place  of 
His  death  and  burial.  The  appearance  of  Christ  to  the 
women,  narrated  by  Matthew,  is  onl}^  a  repetition  of  the 
vision  of  angels  according  to  Mark.  That  is,  the  story  of 
Christ's  appearance  at  the  grave  is  but  a  developed  form  of 
the  legend,  which,  in  its  earlier  stadium,  knew  only  of  a 
future  appearance  in  Galilee. 

The  entire  group  of  narratives  concernnig  the  appear- 
ances in  Jerusalem,  are  without  historical  foundation.  The 
facts  that  account  for  the  faith  of  the  |  disciples  in  the  res- 


NUW   TKSTAJIEXT    IXTBODrrTJOX.  70 

iirrection  are  to  be  sought  in  Galilee.  If  Jesus  was  seen  by 
His  disciples  only  in  Galilee,  far  from  the  place  where  His 
body  was  interred,  then  it  cannot  be  that  the  same  body 
which  was  buried  near  Jerusalem  was  seen  alive  in  Galilee. 
In  other  words,  there  is  no  question  of  a  vision  of  a  corpo- 
really risen  one.  What,  then,  was  seen?  Paul  gives  us  a 
hint.  He  puts  the  appearances  to  the  other  believers  in 
the  same  class  as  that  to  him.  His  was  spiritual,  there- 
fore theirs  was  also.  The  stories  in  the  Gospel  are  to  be 
explained  as  the  product  of  a  coarse  tendency  of  legend,  of 
apologetic  reflection  and  allegoric  fiction.  In  accounting 
for  the  vision  which  the  disciples  had  in  Galilee,  it  is  need- 
ful to  bear  in  mind  that  the  belief  in  resurrection  from  the 
dead  was  common.  In  the  case  of  the  disciples  it  is  not 
difficult  to  understand  how  the  common  belief  should  have 
been  for  once  actualized.  The  disciples  were  surprised  by 
the  catastrophe  of  Christ's  death,  and  for  the  time  they 
were  \yithout  self  possession.  They  fled  to  Galilee.  But 
there,  in  the  places  where  a  little  while  since  they  had 
walked  with  Jesus,  and  received  the  deepest  impressions 
from  Him,  they  soon  recovered  themselves.  They  felt  how 
barren  their  life  must  be,  if  it  was  really  over  with  the 
cause  of  Jesus,  who  had  sacrificed  himself  so  joyously  and 
confidently.  They  recalled  now  the  words  which  Jesus  had 
spoken  to  them  before  going  to  Jerucalem,  of  the  necessity 
of  suffering  and  the  certainty  of  victory.  Could  these 
promises  be  an  empt}'  delusion?  But  how  could  they  be 
true  if  the  Messiah  remained  in  death  ?  Must  He,  how- 
ever, remain  in  death?  Would  not  the  frequently  con- 
firmed truth  hold  in  His  case,  that  God  rescues  His  own? 
When  the  courage  of  the  disciples  began  to  revive  through 


80        X£W  TESTAMENT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

such  recollections,  when  their  hearts  burned  in  the  conflict 
between  doubt  and  hope,  when  longing  love  sank  itself  in 
the  picture  of  its  Lord,  as  He  had  opened  the  Scriptures 
unto  them ;  then  were  all  the  conditions  satisfied  under 
which  a  visionary  experience  like  Paul's  becomes  wholly 
explicable.  Peter  was  the  first  to  have  the  vision,  for 
which  his  peculiar  temperament  predisposed  him. 

Some  of  the  more  important  results  of  the  author's 
studies  in  reference  to  the  different  books  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament may  be  briefly  indicated.  The  genuine  Pauline 
Epistles  are  six, — Galatians,  I  Thessalonians,  I  and  II 
Corinthians,  Pvomans  and  Philippians.  II  Thessalonians, 
in  view  of  its  repetition  from  the  first  letter  and  its  esclia- 
tology,  must  be  regarded  as  the  work  of  an  imitator.  It  is 
possible  that  a  genuine  letter  of  Paul  formed  the  basis  of 
our  Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  which  however,  belongs  to 
the  post-apostolic  age.  The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  was 
written  by  a  Paulinist  of  the  second  century,  somewhat 
later  than  the  Hebrews.  The  Pastoral  Epistles,  which  served 
the  purpose  of  developing  Episcopacy,  presuppose  the 
Gnosticism  of  the  middle  of  the  second  century.  Even 
the  Epistle  to  Philemon  is  not  allowed  a  place  among 
the  genuine  Pauline  Epistles.  Of  the  ungenuine  Pauline 
Epistles  those  to  the  Colossians  and  Ephesians  are  monu- 
ments of  Christian  Hellenism,  while  the  Pastoral  Epistles 
are  a  product  of  the  antignostic  Catholicism  of  about  the 
same  period.  The  Apocalypse  was  not  the  work  of  the 
Apostle  John,  but  of  several  persons,  its  last  redaction 
having  taken  place  in  the  second  century.  The  bulk  of 
the  book  is  a  Jewish  Apocalypse. 

The  second  Gospel  is  regarded  as  essentially  the  same 


AA'ir    TJJSTAJJLWT    iXTRoniCTlOX.  81 

as  the  original.  The  favorite  hypothesis  of  an  "  Ur-Marcus" 
is  rejected  in  view  of  the  unity  of  the  Gospel  as  we  have 
it.  The  Book  of  Acts  is  thought  to  have  been  written  in 
the  second  decade  of  the  second  century,  and  not  by  an 
immediate  disciple  of  Paul.  Luke  may  have  been  the 
author  of  the  "  We  "-passages,  and  this  circumstance  may- 
account  for  the  fact  that  the  Church  tradition  ascribes  the 
entire  work  to  Luke.  The  Gospel  according  to  Matthew,  is 
thought  to  be  based  chiefly  upon  Mark,  secondarily  on 
Luke.  It  is  not  Jewish-Christian  nor  Pauline,  but  repre- 
sents the  general  consciousness  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
the  second  century.  It  is  said  to  show  dependence  upon 
the  first  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  since  the  Apoca- 
lypse is  assigned  to  the  reign  of  Hadrian,  Matthew  cannot 
be  earlier.  The  author  puts  it  in  the  fourth  decade  of  the 
second  century.  In  regard  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  it 
is  held  to  be  beyond  question  that  it  depends  largely  upon 
Philo.  Its  allegorizing  treatment  of  the  Old  Testament ; 
its  view  of  Christ  as  the  great  and  sinless  High-priest,  who 
is  at  once  the  agent  in  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  the 
sustainer  of  the  universe :  its  conception  of  ritual  sacri- 
fices as  means  of  the  remembrance  of  sins,  not  of  their  for- 
giveness ;  its  error  regarding  the  daily  sacrifice  of  the  High- 
priest  ;  its  quotation  according  to  Philo  (xiii,  5) ;  its  con- 
ception of  Abraham's  faith  as  shown  in  his  journeying  to 
a  strange  land ;  and  its  view  of  this  world  as  the  sensuous 
copy  of  a  higher  original  world  of  ideas — these  features 
all  point  to  a  dependence  upon  Philo.  I  Peter,  John,  the 
Epistles  of  John,  Jude  and  Jam^s  originated  near  the 
middle  of  the  second  century ;  and  II  Peter,  the  latest  of 
the  New  Testament  writings,  is  assigned  to  the  latter  part 
of  the  second  century. 


82        yJ:J]V   TESTAMENT   EXEGETICAL    TIIEOLOOY. 

In  essential  agreement  with  Pfieiderer's  view  of 
the  Synoptic  Gospels  is  that-  of  Holtzmann.^  He 
speaks  of  the  Marcus-hypothesis  as  a  Avell-established 
scientific  result.  The  earliest  continuous  narrative  of  the 
evangelical  history  was  that  of  Mark.  Prior  to  that  w^as 
the  loosely  constructed  and  fragmentary  document,  the 
Auy'a  of  Papias,  which  was  a  collection  of  the  Lord's 
sayings.  The  Gospels  according  to  Matthew  and  Luke, 
w^ere  based  upon  the  primitive  documents.  The  Synoptic 
Gospels  w^ere  all  composed  subsequent  to  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem.  As  to  the  historical  character  of  the  Synop- 
tic Gospels,  the  author  does  not  regard  it  more  highly  than 
do  the  other  advocates  of  the  Tubingen  views.  He  thinks 
they  give  a  recognizable  picture  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  yet 
it  is  by  no  means  purely  historical.  Sometimes  a  reli- 
gious motive,  sometimes  a  dogmatic  motive,  and  some- 
times even  an  sesthetic  motive,  helped  to  determine  the 
content  and  form  of  the  narrative.  The  facts  of  Christ's  life 
are  ideally  treated,  and  hence  we  have  in  the  Synoptists 
the  oldest  Christian  dogmatics  as  w^ell  as  the  oldest  histor- 
ical tradition. 

The  very  ancient  writing  known  among  the  Fathers  as 
the  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews,  will  doubtless  give 
rise  to  new^  speculations  until  perhaps  some  discovery  of 
old  MSS.  throws  clearer  light  upon  it.  That  it  w^as  an 
important  Gospel  narrative  appears  from  the  writings  of 
the  early  Church.  Significant  traces  of  it  or  allusions  to 
it  are  found  in  the  writings  of  the  second,  third  and  fourth 
centuries.     But  by  whom  it  w\as  used,  how  it  was  regarded 


^ Hand- Comment ar  ziim  Neuen  Testament.     Erster  Band. 


.VA'ir    Th\sTAJIL\\T   lyTROJjrcTJOX,  8:{ 

with  reference  to  canonicity,  what  its  character  was,  what 
its  rehition  to  the  /My.a  of  Papias  and  to  our  canonic 
Matthew,  are  questions  diftieult  to  he  answered.  Careful 
study  has  recently  been  given  to  the  entire  subject,^  some 
of  the  results  of  which  are  interesting.  The  Gospel  ac- 
cording to  the  Hebrews  is  distinguished  from  the  ecangel- 
ium  secundum  XII  apostolos.  The  former  was  the  Gospel 
of  the  Nazarites  and  common  Ebionites,  the  latter  that  of 
the  Gnostic  Ebionites.  The  Gospel  according  to  the  He- 
brews was  all  the  New  Testament  possessed  by  the  Jewish- 
Christian  sect  who  used  it.  It  was  not  canonic,  as  was  the 
Old  Testament.  There  was  no  occasion  for  regarding  it 
as  canonic.  It  did  not  contain  a  new  doctrine,  but  only  a 
historic  confirmation  of  what  the  Old  Testament  had 
taught  concerning  the  Messiah.  The  Old  Testament  was 
the  sufficient  norm.  The  designation  "  Gospel  according 
to  the  Hebrews"  is  regarded  as  coined  by  the  Greek  Fath- 
ers. The  document  was  in  iVramaic,  the  language  used  by 
the  Nazarites, and  it  is  thought  improbable  that  they  should 
have  designated  themselves  as  "Hebrews." 

The  Hebrew  Gospel  is  not  regarded  as  the  direct  foun- 
dation of  the  canonic  Matthew,  but  as  a  possible  source, 
one  among  others,  for  both  Matthew  and  Luke.  This 
Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews  is  thought  to  have  given 
rise  to  the  tradition  of  a  Hebrew^  Matthew.  It  is  held  to 
be  decidedly  problematical  whether  such  a  writing  ever 
existed. 

The  editor  of  the  last  edition  of  Meyer's  Commentary 
on  the  Acts   departs   widely  from  the  original   author  in 


^Da.s-  HehrOer-Evanrjelium.  Von  Paidolf  Handmann,  Leipzig,  1888. 


84        XFW    TESTAMENT  EXEGETICAL   THEOLOGY. 

some  matters  of  Introduction.  While  Mej^er  regards  the 
"  We-passages"  as  the  product  of  the  author  of  the  whole 
book,  indicating  how  far  he  was  an  eye-witness  of  the 
events  contained  in  the  Acts,  his  latest  editor  holds  that 
the  author  of  our  Canonical  Acts  is  unknown.^  It  was  not 
Luke,  for  he  was  the  author  of  the  "  We-passages;"  and 
had  he  been  the  author  both  of  these  passages  and  of  the 
rest  of  the  book,  he  would  not  have  lefi  such  abrupt 
changes  in  the  person  of  the  narrator;  namely,  changes 
from  the  third  person  to  the  first.  If  he  had  wished  to 
indicate  his  personal  relation  to  the  Apostle,  we  should 
expect  him  to  have  mentioned  his  first  significant  meeting 
with  Paul  and  the  circumstances  which  led  him  to  become 
his  companion.  Further,  Wendt  holds  with  Weizsaecker 
that  the  "  We-passages"  are  a  part  of  a  larger  writing 
used  by  the  author  of  the  Acts  as  a  source.  This  is 
thought  to  be  supported  by  two  circumstances :  First,  we 
find  in  connection  with  the  "We-passages"  certain  narra- 
tives which  manifestly  contain  untrustworthy  elements. 
So,  for  instance,  the  wholly  intelligible  story  of  the  im- 
prisonment and  liberation  of  Paul  and  Silas  in  Philippi 
(xvi:  19f.)  in  connection  with  the  entirely  incomprehensible 
episode  regarding  the  miraculous  nightly  events  in  the 
prison  (verses  25-3i).  Second,  we  find  also  in  immediate 
connection  with  a  "We-passage"  (xxvi,  12-18)  an  account 
of  Paul's  conversion,  whose  characteristic  deviation  from 
the  two  former  reports  can  be  explained  only  in  this  way, 
that  the  author  of  the  Acts  followed  here  a  fixed  written 


^Kritisch  exegetisches  Handbiich  nher  die  Apostalgeschichte.  Sie- 
beiite  Auflage.  Bearbeitet  von  Dr.  Hans  Hinricli  ^Vendt,  Gottingen, 
1888. 


.\EW   TESTA M EXT   IXTEODUCTIOX.  85 

document,  which  in  his  two  earlier  accounts  he  took  as  his 
essential  basis,  but  which  in  those  cases  he  altered  accord- 
ing to  a  different  tradition.  The  third  report  is  the  orig- 
inal one,  as  appears  from  the  fact  that  it  is  in  accord  with 
Paul's  most  firm  consciousness  that  he  was  called  of  the 
Lord  to  be  an  iVpostle.  Since  Wendt  holds  that  one  mind 
produced  the  Acts  and  the  third  Gospel  (p.  1),  and 
that  Luke  did  not  produce  the  Acts,  he  appears  to  reject 
Luke's  authorship  of  the  third  Gospel.  As  to  the  date  of 
the  composition  of  the  Acts,  while  Meyer  fixes  upon  the 
year  80  A.  D.  as  approximate,  Wendt  would  leave  the  en- 
tire last  quarter  of  the  century  open. 

It  is  nearly  a  century  since  Edward  Evanson  pub- 
lished a  book  in  which  he  asserted  that  the  entire  New 
Testament  originated  in  the  post-apostolic  age.  His 
book  has  long  been  forgotten.  The  most  radical  of 
the  negative  critics  have  accepted  the  four  chief  Pau- 
line Epistles  as  genuine.  The  evidence  in  their  favor 
has  been  admitted  on  all  hands  to  be  overwhelming. 
This,  however,  can  no  longer  be  said  without  qualifi- 
cation. We  have  an  elaborate  monograph^  which  puts 
the  four  great  Pauline  Epistles  in  the  period  from  120 
to  140  A.  D.,  and  which  relegates  the  entire  New  Testa- 
ment literature  to  the  second  century.  The  author  differs 
from  many  of  the  negative  critics  in  some  points.  For 
instance,  he  does  not  consider  his  views  at  all  dangerous 
to  Christianity  and  the  Church,  and  he  advances  them 
with  a  degree  of  modesty  that  is  seldom  found  in  works  of 
this  sort.     The  reason  for  seeking  a  period  for  the  compo- 


^Der  Galaterbrief  nach  seiner  Echlheit  unterstickt,  nebst  KritiseJien 
Bemerkungen  zuden  paulinischen  Hauptbriefen,  Von  Paidolf  Steck, 
Berlin,  1888. 


86        XEW  TESTAMENT   EXECiETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

sition  of  the  four  major  Epistles  different  from  the  one  gen- 
erally accepted  is,  that,  according  to  the  present  view  of 
composition  the  exegesis  of  these  Epistles  is  involved  in 
insoluble  difficulties.  Such  are  a  lack  of  agreement  con- 
cerning the  locality  and  nationality  of  the- Galatians  (p. 
26),  baptism  for  the  dead  (p.  266),  the  doctrine  of  mar- 
riage contained  in  I  Cor.  vii  (p.  268),  the  Christ-party  in 
Corinth,  and  a  number  of  similar  points.  These  difficul- 
ties are  accounted  for,  it  is  held,  if  these  writings  originated 
in  the  Pauline  school  of  the  second  century.  Eegarding 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  which  is  the  special  object  of 
investigation,  it  is  held  that  it  is  dependent  upon  the  Eom- 
ans  (p.  74f).  In  the  latter  Epistle  we  have  the  original 
system  of  doctrine,  an  organic  whole ;  while  in  Galatians 
the  same  thoughts  and  words  are  often  brought  together, 
but  in  an  outward  manner.  It  is  a  structure  for  which  the 
hewn  stones  are  taken  from  another  building,  and  are  ar- 
L'anged  on  a  different  plan.  It  belongs  to  this  plan,  that 
the  Law  is  less  highly  esteemed  in  Galatians  than  in  Eom- 
ans.  It  is  represented  as  given  by  angels.  This  deroga- 
tory treatment  of  the  law  is  a  step  toward  the  position  of 
Marcion.  Again,  the  conception  of  Judaism  found  in  the 
Galatians  is  said  to  be  different  from  that  of  Eomans. 
For  in  the  former  writing,  Judaism  and  heathenism  are 
represented  as  standing  on  the  same  plane  (Gai.  iv,  10-11), 
while  in  the  latter  the  prerogatives  of  the  Jews  are  men- 
tioned (Eom.  ix,  1-5).  Again,  Paul's  reference  to  his  con- 
version in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  thought  to  be 
suspicious  (pp.  81-84),  and  the  accounts  of  Paul's  visit  to 
Jerusalem  and  the  story  of  the  conflict  with  Peter  in 
Antioch  are  regarded  as  artificial  history.     It  is  also  urged 


KBW  TEST  AM  EXT   lyTJlODrcTlOX.  87 

against  the  genuineness  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians 
that  Paul's  claim  to  apostolic  authority  is  too  strongly  em- 
phasized to  comport  with  the  modesty  which  a  real  author 
usually  shows. 

In  the  same  line  is  the  criticism  on  Gal.  i,  G.  Compari- 
son shows  that  Romans  and  Corinthians  (i.  8 ;  I.  C.  i,  4) 
have  the  word  adyapKrrro  at  the  beginning  of  the  letter, 
after  the  address,  while  Galatians  has  Oaufid^w.  Of  course, 
says  the  author,  the  word  vy/ainard)  was  shut  out  by  the 
nature  of  the  case.  The  Apostle  could  not  thank  God  for 
the  faith  of  churches  which  he  was  obliged  so  severely  to 
blame.  Anything  but  an  expression  of  wonder  would  have 
been  out  of  place.  But  is  it  probable,  he  continues,  that 
the  Apostle  chose  this  form  Oa.oiJ.d'^o),  if  this  letter  w^as 
the  first  he  ever  wrote  ?  Does  not  this  word  in  place  of 
the  well-known  thyap'.dTG)  make  the  impression  that  the 
letter  was  conaposed  by  some  oae  who  knew  the  Pauline 
form,  and  kept  it  here,  but  quite  appropriately  instead  of 
the  laudatory  initial  word,  placed  the  word  of  blame "? 

This  reasoning  is  scarcely  strong  enough  to  support  a 
hypothesis  of  any  value.  The  author  concludes  that  the 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  must  be  regarded  as  a  literary 
product  of  the  Pauline  school.  It  Avas  intended  to  give 
the  strongest  expression  to  the  opposition  between  tne  lib- 
eral Gentile  Christianity  and  the  aggressive  Jewish  Chris- 
tianity. With  the  full  force  of  a  superior  mind  he  scourged 
the  tendencies  of  hi's  time,  which  would  make  Christianity 
Jewish  again.  It  was  composed  after  120  A.  D.  An  ob- 
jection to  this  view  is  anticipated  by  the  author,  and  is 
dealt  with,  viz., the  objection  that  it  affirms  the  impossible. 
Such  a  fresh,  living  letter,  it  is  said,  bears  too  plainly  the 


88        XFW  TESTA2IENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

impress  of  the  Pauline  spirit  to  allow  tlie  supposition  that 
a  mere  imitator  could  have  composed  it.  It  is  a  unit,  and 
by  no  means  makes  the  impression  of  a  patchwork  out  of 
other  letters.  The  author  replies  that  it  is  not  necessar}' 
to  see  in  the  later  writer  a  simple  imitator.  He  may 
have  been  a  Paulinist  of  independent,  decided,  spiritual 
individuality,  who  understood  Jiow  to  Aveave  together  the 
watchwords  of  the  Paulinism  of  the  older  letters  in  a  new, 
ingenious  way.  The  author  recurs  to  this  point  again,  as 
though  not  satisfied  with  his  own  argument.  He  says 
(p.  352)  of  the  four  major  Epistles,  it  will  be  objected  that 
they  manifestly  belong  to  the  creative  beginning  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  circle  of  the  Apostles.  They  contain  the 
most  forcible  and  original  religious  thought  found  in  the 
New  Testament.  But  it  does  not  follow,  he  says,  that  be- 
cause these  letters  are  incomparable  they  must  therefore 
have  been  composed  by  Apostles.  What  proof  have  we 
that  the  Apostles  were  such  original  thinkers?  Are 
writers  like  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Eomans 
impossible  In  the  second  century?  The  case  of  the 
fourth  Gospel  should  restrain  us  from  answering  in  the 
negative.  The  critical  school  agree  that  this  Gospel  be- 
longs to  the  second  century.  If  there  was  a  mind  in  that 
period  which  could  produce  the  fourth  Gospel,  there  might 
also  have  been  one  which  could  produce  the  Epistle  to  the 
Piomans. 

Having  put  these  Epistles  in  the  period  between  120 
and  140  A.  D.,  the  author  feels  it  to  be  necessary  to  show 
that  there  is  no  reference  to  them  in  any  writing  prior  to 
this  time.  This  is  done  by  the  hypothesis  that  Clement 
wrote  forty  years  later  than  is  generally  supposed,  and  by 


NFW  TESTAMENT  IXTIWDCrTfOX.  89 

denying  many  of  the  traces  of  the  Epistles  that  are  com- 
monly believed  to  exist. 

Of  importance  for  the  defense  of  the  genuineness  of 
II  Thessalonians  is  the  fact,  brought  out  and  emphasized 
recently^  that  the  Macedonian  churches,  unlike  the  others 
which  Paul  established,  were  founded  and  developed  under 
the  stress  of  persecution.  This  fact  explains  the  presence 
in  these  churches  of  a  peculiarly  intense  longing  for  the 
Parous ia.  The  second  Epistle,  it  is  said,  shows  us  the 
same  congregation  as  the  first,  but  the  eschatological  ten- 
dency in  it  is  strengthened  by  an  outbreak  of  iDersecution. 
The  peculiar  doctrine  of  the  second  chapter  is  explicable 
with  the  aid  of  Daniel's  prophecies  and  the  historical  ap- 
pearance of  Caligula.  That  which  restraineth  is  the  Ko- 
man  law,  the  restrainer  is  Claudius.  The  Thessalonian 
Apocalypse  differs  too  widely  from  that  of  John  to  belong 
to  the  same  period. 

The  question  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Pastoral  Epis- 
tles is  still  earnestly  discussed.  The  position  of  Hesse^  is 
that  all  the  letters  contain  genuine  Pauline  elements. 
Second  Timothy  is  even  thought  to  be  based  upon  two  ver- 
itable letters  of  Paul,  one  a  letter  of  encouragement  to  Tim- 
othy, the  other  a  letter  summoning  the  same  disciple  to  Rome. 
Our  Pastoral  Epistles  arose  in  the  first  half  of  the  second 
century.  Their  aim  was  to  check  growing  heresies,  and  to 
regulate  the  offices  of  the  Church.  Since  they  were  thought 
to  be  in  the  spirit  of  Paul,  they  were  ascribed  to  him.  His 
own  words  were  modified  and  enlarged  to  meet  present 


^Dzr  Zweite  Brief  an  die  Tkessalonicher  erhhitert  unci  kritisch   un- 
tersucht.     Yon  Albert  Klopper,  Konigsberg,  1889. 

'Die  Entstehung  der  neatest amentliclien  Hirtenbriefc.   Halle,  1889. 


90        NUW  TESTA2IEXT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

needs.  The  author  holds  that  the  Epistles  themselves 
suggest  and  confirm  the  hypothesis  of  a  release  and  a  sec- 
ond imprisonment.  The  heretics  had  in  view  in  the  Pas- 
toral Epistles  are  thought  to  be  the  Valentinians  and 
Marcionites.  The  endless  genealogies  and  denial  of  the 
resurrection  are  said  to  point  to  the  Valentinians,  while  the 
forbidding  to  marry  and  antinomianism  point  to  Marcion. 
Hence  the  Epistles  in  their  present  form  are  assigned  to 
the  middle  of  the  second  century.  It  is  held  by  another 
writer^  that  two  results  of  the  controversy  regarding  the 
genuineness  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles  may  be  accepted  as 
practically  settled,  viz.,  (1)  that  it  is  impossible  to  accept 
two,  or  one,  or  any  portion  of  one,  of  these  Epistles,  and 
reject  the  rest;  and  (2)  that  they  stand  or  fall  with  the  hy- 
pothesis of  the  second  imprisonment.  The  first  of  these 
statements  must  be  modified,  since  some  of  the  ablest  re- 
cent writers  accept  portions  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles  as 
genuine,  while  they  reject  them  as  a  whole.  The  strong 
argument  for  their  genuineness,  which  is  found  in  the  last 
named  author,  is  legitimately  drawn  from  the  contents  of 
the  letters. 

The  same  diversity  of  views  regarding  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  is  found  in  the  writings  of  the  past  year.  On  the 
one  hand^  Apollos  is  held  to  be  the  only  known  person 
who  fills  all  the  conditions  regarding  the  author ;  on  the 
other, ^  it  is  shown  quite  conclusively  that  the  authorship  of 


^The   Pastoral  Epistles.      By  Rev.  Alfred  Phimmer,  D.   D.,  New 
York,  Armstrong  &  Son,  1889. 

^The  Epistle  to  the   Hebrews,  with  Notes   and   Introduction.      By 
F,  W.  Farrar,  D.  D.     Cambridge,  1888. 

^r/ie  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.     By   Frederic  RendciU,  A.  M.      Lon 
don,  1888. 


XEW  TESTA JIi: XT   lyTRODrcTlOX.  91 

Apollos  is  out  of  the  question.  The  former  of  these  writers 
thinks  that  the  Epistle  was  probably  directed  to  believers 
either  in  Alexandria  or  Ephesus ;  the  latter  argues  forcibly 
that  it  was  sent  to  some  church  in  Syria.  As  to  the  author, 
Mr.  Eendall  says  that  the  silence  of  primitive  tradition  is 
inconsistent  with  the  idea  that  the  name  of  Apollos  was 
ever  associated  with  the  Epistle.  He  thinks  the  author 
was  plainly  a  Hellenistic  Jew,  who  had  received  a  Greek 
education  as  well  as  training  in  the  Old  Testament.  He 
sometimes  borrows  the  language  of  Philo,  but  is  not  in 
harmony  with  Philo's  spirit. 

Against  the  view  that  Paul  wrote  the  Epistle,  the 
author  presents  with  especial  emphasis  the  argument,  that 
the  theology,  of  the  Epistle  is  of  the  Petrine  stamp  rather 
than  of  the  Pauline.  The  conception  of  the  Mosaic  Law 
which  is  found  in  Hebrews  differs  widely  from  that  of  Paul. 
The  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  regarded  the  Law  as  an  inci- 
dental and  temporary  addition,  something  almost  of  the 
nature  of  an  interruption  of  God's  origmal  covenant.  In 
the  Hebrews  the  Old  and  New  Dispensations  form  an  un- 
broken continuity.  The  Jewish  and  Christian  Church  are 
spoken  of  as  one  and  the  same  household  of  God.  The 
Gospel  is  presented  not  as  antagonistic  to  the  Law,  bat  as 
the  natural  climax  of  the  Mosaic  revelation.  The  conception 
of  faith  and  righteousness  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  tal- 
lies with  that  which  is  contained  in  James.  The  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  objects  to  the  retention  of  the  Levitical 
system  by  the  Israelites  themselves ;  but  Paul  did  not  ad- 
vocate this  liberty  for  the  Jews,  though  he  did  for  the  Gen- 
tiles. Mr.  Piendall  places  the  composition  of  the  Epistle 
in  the  time  of  the  last  conflict  between  the  Jews  and  Pome, 


92        XFW  TESTA3IENT   EXEGETICAL   THEOLOGY. 

and  more  particularly  in  the  very  year  of  the  downfall  of 
Jerusalem.  This  rests  entirely  upon  internal  evidence. 
The  attitude  of  the  author  of  the  Epistle  toward  the  Mosaic 
worship  and  sacrifices  is  accounted  for  by  the  course  of 
political  events.  The  refusal  of  the  Jewish  Christians  to 
join  in  the  revolt  against  Rome — a  refusal  which  they 
were  obliged  to  make  in  loyalty  to  the  precepts  of  Christ — 
brought  necessarily  their  abandonment  of  the  national  rit- 
ual. The  Epistle  justifies  this  abandonment  by  showing 
the  superiority  of  the  Christian  revelation  to  that  of  the 
Old  Testament. 

Westcott^  arrives  at  conclusions  which  dift'er  from  both 
those  of  Farrar  and  Rendall.  He  decides  that  the  readers 
of  the  Epistle  were  the  Hebrew  Christians  of  Jerusalem  or 
of  the  immediate  neighborhood.  This  is  an  inference 
from  the  relation  in  which  the  readers  manifestly  stood 
to  the  Levitical  ritual.  He  does  not  regard  this  conclu- 
sion as  beyond  doubt.  He  puts  the  composition  of  the 
Epistle  about  the  year  67  A.  D.  As  to  the  author  of 
the  Epistle  Westcott's  conclusion  is  similar  to  that  of 
Eendall.  He  says  that  it  cannot  be  the  work  of  St.  Paul, 
and  still  less  the  \vork  of  Clement.  It  may  have  been 
written  by  St.  Luke.  It  may  have  been  written  by  Barna- 
bas, if  the  "Epistle  of  Barnabas"  is  apocryphal.  The 
scanty  evidence  which  is  accessible  to  us  supports  no  more 
definite  judgment. 

The  view  that  James  wrote  before  Paul,  and  hence 
that  his  Epistle  is  the  oldest  portion  of  our  New  Testa- 
ment, is  represented  again  in  the  latest  edition  of  Mey- 


'See  title  under  Exeeresis. 


XUW   TESTA JIEST   jyTU(Hn'('Tl()N.  !).; 

er's  Commentary  on  that  book.^  The  composition  is  \)wi 
in  the  decade  between  40  and  50  A.  D.  James,  the 
brother  of  the  Lord,  is  hekl  to  have  been  the  nutlior,  and 
Jewish  Christians  of  the  Diaspora,  probably  in  Southern 
Syria,  are  regarded  as  the  readers. 

Weiss,  in  his  edition  of  the  Meyer-Hiither  Commentary 
on  the  Epistles  of  John,'-^  holds  with  his  predecessor  that 
the  Apostle  John  was  the  author  of  the  Epistles ;  that  the 
first  Epistle  is  indeed  a  letter,  and  not  a  homiletical  essay ; 
and  that  the  false  teachers  who  are  warned  against,  are 
Corinthians.  It  is  said  that  John  had  Pauline  Christians  in 
view  who,  in  the  consciousness  of  a  righteousness  bestowed 
by  grace,  forgot  that  the  aim  of  Christ  is  to  produce  in  us 
the  practice  of  righteousness.  The  Epistle  is  by  no  means 
a  polemic  against  Paul,  but  against  a  wrong  practical 
conclusion  drawn  from  a  misunderstood  Paulinism. 

No  problem  in  New  Testament  Introduction  is  receiv- 
ing so  much  attention  at  present  as  that  of  the  origin  of 
the  xlpocalypse.  A  considerable  number  of  works  have 
appeared  in  quick  succession,  which  agree  in  holding  that 
the  Apocalypse  is  the  product  of  several  authors,  living  in 
different  times,  and  being  adherents  of  different  religions. 
Among  these  are  the  ^vritmg^  of  Volter,  Vischer-Harnack, 
Sabatiei-,  Schoen,  Pfleiderer,  Weizsaecker  and  Spitta.  Op- 
posed to  this  hypothesis,  and  called  out  by  these  attacks 
upon  the  unity  of  the  Apocalypse,  are  numerous  articles 


^Kritisck  exegetisches  Handbuch  dher  den  Brief  dcs  Jacobus.     Fiinf- 
te  Auflage.  Neu  bearbeitefc  von  Dr.  Willibald  Beysclilag.  Gottingen 
1888. 

"Ki'itiich  exegetisches  Handbuch  i'ber  die  Briefe  des  Apostels  Jo- 
hannes. Fiinfte  Auflage.  Neu  bearbeitet  von  Dr.  B.  Weiss.  Gott- 
ingen, 1888. 


94        ^'FW   TESTAMENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

which  have  appeared  in  the  German  and  English  lan- 
guages. 

The  work  of  Spitta/  the  latest  of  the  opponents  of 
the  traditional  view,  is  an  elaborate  and  learned  presenta- 
tion of  a  hypothesis  differing  in  many  points  from  the 
views  of  other  writers  who  reject  the  unity  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse. His  hypothesis,  in  its  leading  features,  may  be 
stated  as  follows : 

The  Canonical  Apocalypse  is  the  work  of  four  authors. 
The  oldest  portion  (P)was  composed  about  63  B.  C.  The 
next  oldest  (J^)  arose  under  Caligula  about  the  year  40  or 
41  A,  D.  The  third  document  (U)  was  composed  in  60 
A.  D.  These  three  were  made  one,  and  were  increased  by 
a  good  many  additions,  by  a  writer  (R)  wdio  lived  under 
Domitian  or  Trajan.  The  oldest  document  is  contained 
in  the  following  passages  of  the  Apocalypse:  Chap,  x,  Ib- 
2a,  8-11 ;  xi,  1-13  :  xiv,  14— xv,  4;  xv,  6— xvi,  21 ;  xvii,  1— 
xix,  8;  xxi,  9 — xxii,  3a,  15.  The  Caligula  Apocalypse  is 
found  in  these  passages  :  Chap,  vii,  1-8  ;  viii,  2-5  ;  viii,  6 — 
ix,  21 ;  X,  la,  2b-T ;  xi,  15  ;  xii-xiv,  13  ;  xvi,  13-16,  l7b-20  ; 
xix,  11-21 ;  XX,  1-xxi,  8.  The  third  document  consisted  of 
these  passages :  Chap,  i,  4-6,  9-19;  ii-v;  vi,  viii,  1;  vii, 
9-17;  xix,  9b,  10a;  xxii,  8-21.  To  the  final  redactor  belong 
about  126  additions,  varying  in  length  from  a  single  word 
to  several  verses.  The  redactor  made  relatively  more 
changes  in  the  second  Jewish  Apocalypse  than  in  either  of 
the  other  documents.  The  first  Jewish  Apocalypse,  com- 
jDosed  at  the  time  of  the  downfall  of  the  Hasmonean  dy- 
nasty, when  Jerusalem  was  finally  given  over  to  heathen 


^Die  Offenharung  des  Johannes  untersuc.ht,  Halle,  1889. 


XUW  TESTAMEXT   IXTBODUCTION.  95 

rule  by  Pompey,  is  eliaracterized  by  the  same  political  sobri- 
ety and  religious  contidence  which  are  found  in  the  Psalms 
of  Solomon.  Its  conception  of  the  Messiah 'is  midway  be- 
tween the  collective  idea  of  Daniel  and  the  personal  con- 
ception of  Enoch.  In  its  picture  of  the  future  the  Messiah 
has  no  place.  Its  attitude  toward  the  Temple  is  not  that 
of  extreme  loyalty.  It  looks  forward  to  a  time  when 
there  shall  be  no  temple.  Its  characteristic  symbol  of 
the  Eoman  power  is  a  luxurious  world-city.  x\lthough  it 
approaches  nearer  to  Christianity  than  the  second  Jewish 
Apocalypse,  still  its. type  of  Judaism  is  not  liberal.  Jeru- 
salem is  the  center  of  the  nation ;  outside  of  it  is  the  place 
of  dogs. 

The  second  Jewish  Apocalypse  is  intensely  Jewish  and 
fanatical.  Israel  alone  stands  in  the  book  of  life ;  Israel 
alone  is  rescued  in  the  great  catastrophe  of  the  end ;  all 
the  heathen  perish.  The  earthly  Jerusalem  is  the  scene 
of  the  Millennial  Kingdom.  According  to  the  Apocalypse, 
the  Messiah  is  born  in  heaven,  where  Satan  tries  in  vain 
to  destroy  him.  Satan  cast  down  to  the  earth  gives  all  his 
power  to  the  representative  of  the  Eoman  Empire,  viz,, 
Caligula.  This  emperor  is  supported  in  his  blasphemous 
opposition  by  Simon  Magus.  All  people  except  Israel  are 
seduced  to  worship  Caligula,  and  are  gathered  together  at 
Megiddo  to  destroy  the  faithful.  At  this  crisis  the  Messiah 
rides  forth  from  heaven,  and  without  Israel's  help  destroys 
the  foe.  Satan  is  bound,  and  Caligula  is  cast  into  the  lake 
of  fire.  Then  begins  tlie  Millennium.  These  events,  pre- 
dicted by  the  Jewish  seer,  did  not  come  to  pass.  Caligula 
died  before  the  anticipated  battle  of  Megiddo  and  the  com- 
ing of  the  Messiah. 


96        XUW  TESTAMEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

In  the  meantime  the  followers  of  Jesus  among  the  Jews 
were  increasing.  They,  of  course,  affirmed  that  the  Gen- 
tiles should  partake  of  the  redemption  of  Chrisi .  This  po- 
sition, since  the  Jews  were  growing  more  and  more  hostile 
toward  the  Gentiles,  made  the  Jews  persecutors  of  the 
Christians.  In  this  state  of  things  the  third  document  (U) 
originated.  In  this  the  Messiah  stands  in  the  foreground 
as  prophet,  sacrificial  lamb  and  king.  His  redeemed  are 
not  of  Israel  merely,  but  out  of  all  peoples  and  tongues. 
The  antithesis  in  U  is  between  Christians  and  Jews. 

The  historical  situation  is  totally  changed  when  at  last 
our  Apocalypse  is  composed.  The  Christians  are  perse- 
cuted, but  not  by  Jews.  These  are  scarcely  mentioned. 
Their  city  lies  in  ruins.  The  foe  of  the  Christian  is  the 
Eoman  power. 

What  the  second  Jewish- document  said  of  Caligula, 
the  redactor  refers  to  Nero.  The  beast  coming  out  of 
the  sea  is,  according  to  J^  interpreted  of  Nero's  return 
from  Hades.  Nero,  together  with  ten  foreign  kings,  will 
burn  Eome,  as  he  had  already  attempted  to  do  in  his  life. 
Then  he  himself  will  be  overcome  by  Jesus,  and  the  millen- 
nial reign  will  begin. 

The  author  of  the  third,  i.  e.  the  Christian,  Apocalypse, 
is  thought  to  have  been  John  Mark.  No  name  is  sug- 
gested for  the  final  redactor.  It  is  held  as  certain  that  he 
wrote  under  the  sixth  emperor,  who  was  either  Domitian 
or  Trajan.  He  was  strongly  influenced  by  the  Johannean 
Avritings.  Kegarding  the  testimony  of  the  eaily  Church 
very  little  is  said,  and  that  testimony,  strangely  enough,  is 
made  to  support  the  above  hypothesis.  The  testimony  of 
Irenaeus,  it  is  said,  is  not  to  be  ignored.     It  is  to  be  taken 


XE  \V  TESTA  ME  XT   IXTRO  DVC  TlOX.  97 

for  what  it  claims  to  be — the  views  of  those  who  bad 
known  John.  If  John  hved  in  Asia  Minor  after  the  death 
of  Paul,  and  died  at  tlie  beginning  of  the  second  century, 
it  is  easil}'  intelligible  how  a  great  Apocalypse,  which  ap- 
peared about  that  time  in  Asia  Minor,  and  which  became 
known  under  the  name  of  John,  should  have  been  imme- 
diately attributed  to  the  Apostle  John.  Such  an  error  be- 
comes nearly  unavoidable,  if  we  accept  that  the  Apoca- 
lypse did  not  become  public  until  the  death  of  John.  Fur- 
ther, the  redactor,  who  stood  under  Johannean  influence, 
surely  believed  that  in  his  publication  he  was  acting  in  the 
spirit  of  John,  and  therefore  had  a  good  right  to  let  the 
public  believe  that  his  Apocalypse  was  really  a  work  of  the 
Apostle  John. 

Such  brietly,  is  the  theory.  The  grounds  w^hicli  are 
thought  to  justify  this  analysis  of  the  Apocalypse  can  not 
be  given  in  full,  nor  would  we  leave  them  wholly  unno- 
ticed. The  weight  of  the  argument  can  be  fairly  estimated 
by  studying  the  author's  treatment  of  tw^o  or  three  chap- 
ters. He  begins  wath  the  unproved  assumption  that  the 
impression  made  by  the  Apocalypse  is  not  one  of  unity  but 
the  reverse.  He  admits  a  superficial  unity,  but  thinks 
this  is  to  be  accounted  for  as  the  work  of  the  redactor. 
The  question  seems  not  to  have  been  asked,  whether  it  is 
more  probable  that  a  uniform  style  in  a  literary  document 
argues  unity  of  authorship  or  that  such  a  style  was  me- 
chanically produced  out  of  several  different  styles  by  the 
hand  of  a  redactor.  We  follow  the  author's  line  of  argu- 
ment for  a  little  in  detail.  Verses  1-3  of  the  first  chapter 
are  held  to  be  an  addition  of  the  redactor  because  they 
represent  the  revelation  as  made  by  an  angel,  while  from 


98        XUW    TESTA3IEXT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

verse  9  forward  to  chapter  xvii,  nothing  is  said  of  media- 
tion by  angels.  In  verse  9  Jesus  speaks  directly  with 
John.  Here  an  apparent  difference  in  the  method  of  com- 
munication w^ith  John  is  at  once  assumed  as  real.  Be- 
cause the  entire  revelation  is  said  to  be  mediated  by  an 
angel  it  is  inferred  that  John,  even  in  an  ecstatic  state, 
cannot  be  represented  as  seeing  and  hearing  any  other 
than  this  same  angel.  Further  evidence  that  verses  1-3 
are  a  later  addition  is  found  in  verse  2,  which  shows  a 
misunderstanding  of  i,  9.  This  passage  was  understood  to 
mean  that  John  went  to  Patmos  in  order  to  receive  the 
word  of  God  and  the  testimou}^  of  Jesus,  and  this  false 
interpretation  of  a  passage  in  the  earlier  document  led  the 
editor  to  trace  the  Apocalypse,  as  he  does,  through  the 
angel  and  Jesus,  up  to  God.  Here  it  is  assumed  that  the 
clauses  "  word  of  God"  and  "  testimony  of  Jesus"  have 
a  radically  different  meaning  in  verse  2  from  that  which 
they  have  in  verse  9.  Further,  it  is  assumed  that  in  i,  9 
and  later  these  expressions  refer  simply  to  the  word  of 
Scripture  and  to  the  testimony  which  Jesus  bore  in  His 
earthly  life.  Again,  because  the  verb  in  verse  2 — 
iiiai>xb{rq(7v^ — lias  no  object  expressed,  while  in  verse  4 
the  seven  churches  are  specified,  it  is  inferred  that  the  re- 
dactor regarded  the  Apocal3^pse  as  addressed,  not  to  seven 
churches,  but  to  the  Church  universal.  Now  it  might  per- 
haps be  said  that  a  redactor  with  this  idea  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse could  have  expressed  himself  in  this  way  ;  but  the  ex- 
pression does  not  help  to  prove  the  existence  of  such  a  redac- 
tor. The  variation  in  language  is  altogether  natural.  Verses 
7 and  8  are  assigned  to  the  redactor.  First,  they  are  felt  to 
disturl)  the  connection.     The  Introduction  is  at  an  end  in 


^^UW   TIJSTAMEXT   INTdWDUCTlOX.  99 

verse  6,  and  we  expect  at  once  the  beginning  of  the  con- 
tent of  the  letter.  This  method  of  reasoning  is  common 
throughout  the  book.  The  feehng  or  taste  of  the  critic  is 
2)ut  forward  as  an  adequate  ground  for  the  most  varied 
changes  in  the  text.  Verse  8,  beginning  with  the  words 
'*I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,"  is  assumed  to  refer  to 
Jesus,  and  then  it  is  argued  that  it  cannot  be  by  the  author 
of  i,  46,  in  which  passage  the  attributes  of  Christ  are  char- 
acteristically different  from  those  of  God.  Again,  these 
verses  cannot  be  by  the  author  of  i,  4-0,  9 — iii,  22,  because 
while  these  sections  refer  to  Christ  only  in  His  present 
relation  to  His  Church,  verses  7-8  refer  to  His  coming  as 
judge.     The  answer  to  this  is  obvious. 

The  last  verse  of  the  first  chapter  is  assigned  to  the 
editor  for  the  following  reasons  :  (1)  The  verse  is  susj)icious 
because  it  is  anacoluthically  connected  with  the  loregoing ; 
(2)  It  anticipates  part  of  the  content  of  the  seven  letters ; 
( o)  It  gives  a  false  interpretation  of  symbols,  and  therefore 
cannot  belong  to  the  author  of  chapters  i-iii.  It  is  wrong  to 
suppose  that  the  candlesticks  stand  for  the  seven  churches 
and  the  stars  for  the  angels  of  the  churches.  For,  in  the 
first  place,  i,  9-lY  contains  only  general  designations  of 
Christ's  heavenly  power  and  glory,  and  therefore  it  would 
be  inconsistent  to  make  two  of  the  features  of  that  vision 
specific.  Here  it  is  assumed  that  the  symbols  of  i,  9-17 
are  general.  The  second  reason  for  regarding  verse  20  as 
a  false  interpretation  of  symbols  is  that  these  churches 
were  for  the  most  part  not  fitted  to  serve  as  an  adornment 
of  the  heavenly  Christ.  It  is  not  needful  to  pause  to 
reply  to  this  objection. 

Chapters  ii-iii,   while  belonging    in   the    main   to   the 


100      NEW    TESTAJIENT  EXEOETICAL   THEOLOGY. 

original  Christian  Apocalypse  from  the  year  60  A.  D.,  are 
no  longer  in  their  primitive  form.  The  words,  seven  times 
repeated,  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the 
Spirit  saith'  to  the  churches,"  cannot  he  an  utterance 
either  of  Christ  or  John.  This  point  is  dispatched  with  a 
simple  assertion.  Another  trace  of  the  redactor  is  in  the 
words,  "What  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches."  Each 
letter,  it  is  said,  is  to  a  single  church,  and  hence  the  word 
"  churches"  is  an  addition.  Here  the  critic  assumes,  what 
is  indeed  excluded  by  i,  4,  that  each  letter  was  designed  to 
be  sent  separately  to  a  particular  church.  The  promise 
associated  in  each  letter  with  the  words  just  mentioned  is 
also  regarded  as  an  addition  of  the  editor,  because,  first,  it 
is  suspicious  that  all  the  churches  alike  should  receive  a 
promise ;  second,  these  promises  are  introduced  abruptly ; 
and  finally,  there  is  no  connection  between  the  con- 
tent of  the  promise  and  the  characteristic  of  Christ 
Avhich  stands  at  the  beginning  of  the  letter,  and  no 
connection  between  it  and  the  content  of  the  letter 
itself. 

This  is  the  style  of  argument  by  which  this  new 
hypothesis  is  supported.  The  course  of  the  book  has 
been  followed  in  these  examples.  They  have  not  been 
chosen  at  random,  or  with  partiality.  And  the  argument 
of  the  entire  book  is  neither  stronger  nor  weaker  than  that 
of  these  first  chapters.  It  may  be  said,  before  passing  on, 
that  this  hypothesis  of  Spitta  seems  to  us  to  ignore  the 
deeper  spiritual  unity  of  the  Apocalypse,  to  ignore  its  poet- 
ical character,  to  ignore  the  testimony  of  the  early  Church, 
and  to  create  vastly  more  and  greater  difficulties  thaiL 
those  which  it  seeks  to  remove. 


CHAPTER  in. 

NEW    TESTAMENT    EXEGESIS, 

The  work  in  this  department  during  the  past  year  has 
not  been  of  so  great  importance  as  that  on  the  subject  of 
New  Testament  Introduction.  There  has  been  no  dearth 
of  works,  but  less  of  original  investigation  than  we  some- 
times have. 

It  is  peculiarly  interesting  to  compare  the  writings  of 
a  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop^  and  a  German  Rationalist^. 
One  represents  exegesis  under  the  ban  of  dogmatism,  the 
other,  exegesis  which  acknowledges  allegiance  to  science 
only.  One  is  thoroughly  mediaeval  in  method  and  re- 
sults, the  other  as  thoroughly  modern.  The  confessed 
motive  of  the  Archbishop  in  publishing  is  the  atheistic  and 
materialistic  character  of  the  age  on  which  we  have  fallen ; 
the  other  author's  motive  is  the  wide-spread  need,  in  Ger- 
many, of  a  scientific  exposition  of  the  New  Testament, 
which  is  adapted  to  theological  students,  clergymen  and 
intelligent  lajanen.  The  attitudes  of  these  writers  toward 
the  sacred  text  is  most  widely  different  from  each  other. 
For  one,  the  letter  of  the  Gospel  is  without  flaw, -a  divinely 


'An  Exposition  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  Bj^  His  Grace,  The 
most  Kev.  Dr.  MacEvilly,  Archbishop  of  Tnam.     Dublin,  1889. 

-Hand-Commentar  zum  Neuen  Testament.  Erster  Band,  erste  bis 
dritte  Abtheilung.    Die  Synoptiker.   Von  H.  Holtzmanu,  Freibm-g, 

1880. 


102      NEW  TESTAMENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

perfect  document ;  for  the  other,  it  is  a  human  stor}^,  re- 
markable it  is  true,  but  specifically  human,  and  by  no 
means  free  from  incorrect  statements  and  other  conse- 
quences of  human  frailty  and  imperfection.  For  one  the 
Gospel  is  fully  historical ;  for  the  other,  it  is  largely  ideal- 
ized, and  contains  around  its  historical  nucleus,  a  mass  of 
devout  meditation,  interpretation  and  legend.  It  follows 
that  the  Eomanist  has  little  liberty  for  criticising  the 
meaning  of  the  text,  while  the  Eationalist  has  no  restraint. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  conclusions  of  these  writers 
are  most  dissimilar.  The  Eomanist's  comments  on  pas- 
sages like  John  i.  48,  ii.  25  are  to  the  effect  that  Jesus  con- 
stantly possesses  the  attributes  of  omniscience,  omnipo- 
tence and  omnipresence.  Jesus,  in  virtue  of  His  Divine 
immensity,  was  present  under  the  fig-tree  with  Nathanael. 
It  is  said  to  be  plain  from  ii,  25  that  Jesus  knew,  as  God, 
the  secrets  of  man's  heart,  the  future  as  well  as  the  pres- 
ent. In  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  Jesus  did  all  by  His 
own  sole  command  and  authority.  He  invoked  no  other 
power  to  assist  Him.  Not  only  during  His  public  ministry 
was  Jesus  consciously  possessed  of  Divine  power  and  wis- 
dom, but  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  us  from  thinking  that 
He  might  have  privately  manifested  His  Divine  power  to 
His  friends  in  His  home  in  Nazareth. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  German  writer  sees  in  Jesus  a 
man  born  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  who  from  the  hour  of  His 
baptism  regarded  Himself  as  the  prophesied  Messiah ,^  a 
man  of  great  power  both  moral  and  spiritual,  a  man  of 
true  and  deep  religious  insight,  a  reformer  of  such  personal 
power  that  He  was  able  to  work  wonders  in  the  psycho- 
logical sphere.     That  is,  according  to  the  German  writer, 


XEW   TEST  AM  EXT   EXEGESIS.  103 

Jesus  was  a  man ;  according  to  the  Eomanist,  He  was  a 
God. 

In  one  notable  point,  these  writers  of  the  extreme  right 
and  extreme  left  agree,  viz.,  in  holding  that  the  Gospel 
teaches  the  primacy  of  Peter.  The  Eomanist  holds  that 
this  doctrine  is  fully  and  emphatically  set  forth  in  John 
xxi,  15-17.  In  reward  for  Peter's  triple  confession,  Jesus 
gives  him  charge  of  His  entire  liock.  His  commission  to 
feed  and  rule  the  Hock  involves  supreme  authority  over  all 
members  of  the  Church.  Peter's  commission  involves 
universal  legislative,  judicial  and  executive  authority  to 
rule,  govern  and  uphold  the  universal  Church,  including 
pastors  and  people.  Here  it  is  assumed  that  whatever 
authority  was  given  to  Peter,  was  given  also  to  the  succes- 
sors of  Peter.  The  agreement  between  the  Eomanist  and 
the  Eationalist  is  as  follows :  Holtzmann  holds  that  Matt, 
xvi,  13-28  contains  a  solemn  proclamation  of  the  primacy 
of  Peter,  but  he  regards  this  passage  as  purely  fictitious, 
written  at  a  late  day  to  justify  an  existing  fact  in  the 
Church.  He  declares  that  this  primacy  of  Peter  is  in  di- 
rect contradiction  to  Matt,  xvi,  23,  where  Jesus  calls  Peter 
by  the  name  Satan ;  is  inconsistent  with  the  teaching  of 
Jesus  regarding  greatness  in  His  kingdom  (Mk.  ix,  35) ; 
with  Paul's  views  of  the  Apostolate,  and  with  his  actual 
relation  to  Peter. 

As  illustrative  of  the  Archbishop's  exegetical  method 
his  treatment  of  the  passages  relating  to  Mary  the  mother 
of  Jesus  may  be  noticed.  He  says  of  John  ii  4:  ''Woman, 
what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  !  mine  hour  is  not  yet  come," 
that  these  words  have  taxed  the  learning  and  ingenuity  of 
the  ablest  commentators  ancient  and  modern.     One  may 


104      NEW   TESTAMENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY, 

be  pardoned  for  thinking  that  it  taxed  the  ingenuity  of  the 
ilrchbishop  himself  to  deduce  from  the  simple  statement 
of  the  text  the  following  teaching.  He  says  the  most  prob- 
able meaning  of  the  entire  verse  is  thus  given  :  "My  Lady, 
the  miracle  regarding  which  thou  givest  me  a  suggestive 
hint,  is  a  work  which  cannot  emanate  from  my  human 
nature,  received  from  thee,  which  alone  therefore  is  com- 
mon to  you  and  to  me.  It  is  a  w^ork  peculiar  to  my  divine 
nature.  There  is  some  difficulty  in  the  way,  arising  from 
the  decree  of  my  Father's  providence,  as  to  the  time,  for 
my  public  manifestation  to  the  world  is  not  yet  come.  But 
thy  powerful  intercession  cannot  be  frustrated ;  thou  askest 
it,  let  it  therefore  be'  done."  The  author  adds:  "What 
more  calculated  to  inspire  all  her  children  with  the  great- 
est confidence  in  the  wonderful  intercessory  power  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin '?  " 

From  the  words  of  Mar}"  in  verse  5  it  is  inferred  as 
certain  that  she  knew  all  about  the  coming  miracle.  She 
knew  that  her  Divine  Son  would  perform  the  miracle  in 
compliance  with  her  request. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  bit  of  exegesis  is  that  of 
Johnxix,  26-27.  On  the  words,  "Woman,  behold  thy  son," 
Ave  read :  "From  the  lofty  summit  of  His  cross  Jesus  con- 
templates the  sorrows  of  this  dolorous  Queen  of  Martyrs, 
and  in  the  person  of  St.  John,  who,  then,  according  to  the 
teaching  of  several  holy  fathers,  represented  the  human 
race,  or,  at  least,  the  sincere  followers  of  our  Divine  Lord, 
He  gave  us  over  to  her,  as  her  children.  Are  we  not, 
then,  the  children  whom  Mary  brought  forth  in  sorrow 
at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  the  children  recommended  to  her 
by    her   dying    first-born?      If    she   was  spared  the    ma- 


XEW   TESTAMEXT    EXECESlS.  105 

ernal  throes  in  Bethlehem,  was  it  not  that  she  might 
experience  them  with  ten-fohl  intensity,  in  giving  us, 
the  children  of  sin,  hirtli  amid  the  glooms  of  Calvary! 
Then  turning  to  us  in  the  person  of  St.  John,  he  ex- 
claims, "Behold  thy  Mother!"  Woe  to  us  if  we  ever  fail 
to  reverence  with  special  honor,  or  love  with  the  most 
intense  tilial  affection  of  devoted  children,  or  cher- 
ish with  unbounded  confidence  the  mother  bequeathed 
to  us,  as  the  last  pledge  of  His  love,  by  her  Divine 
vine  Son,  our  dying  Saviour.  .  .  .If  in  our  conviction  re- 
garding the  powerful  advocacy  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  we 
are  deceived,  then  all  we  can  say  is,  that  the  saints  of 
heaven  and  the  faithful  on  earth,  have  gone  astray  for 
eighteen  hundred  years.  Happy  we,  if  we  err  along  with 
them." 

Comparable  with  this  exegesis  as  regards  only  the  re- 
markable character  of  the  results  attained,  is  Holtzmann's 
treatment  of  the  passages  concerning  the  resurrection. 
He  regards  Matt,  xxviii,  16-20  as  the  oldest  of  the  extant 
reports  of  the  resurrection.  He  holds  that  after  the  dis- 
ciples fled  (Matt,  xxvi,  56),  they  went  to  Galilee,  and  there 
where  all  the  memories  of  the  living  Christ  were  in  full 
strength,  and  where  the  Jerusalem  picture  of  his  death 
could  work  on  them  only  from  afar,  Christianity  was  born 
a  second  time.  The  only  point,  it  is  said,  in  which  the 
Synoptists  agree  perfectly  is  that  the  grave  was  found 
empty.  No  one  knows  what  became  of  the  buried  Jesus. 
The  accounts  of  the  appearances  of  the  risen  One  are  too 
full  of  contradictions  to  be  regarded  as  historical.  Accord- 
ing to  Luke  (xxiv,  18,  34)  Jesus  appears  to  the  disciples  on 
the  day  of  the  resurrection  in  Jerusalem ;    according  to 


106      XFW  TFSTAJIEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Matthew  and  Mark,  He  directs  that  they  should  go  to 
Gahlee,  where  further  revelations  should  be  made.  The 
appearances  in  Jerusalem  are  so  related  that  thej^  exclude 
the  Galilean,  and  the  Galilean  appearances  so  that  they  ex- 
clude those  in  Jerusalem.  According  to  the  Gospel  of 
Luke,  the  last  appearance  of  Jesus  seems  to  be  on  the  day 
of  the  resurrection ;  yet  the  same  writer  in  Acts  i,  3  puts  it 
forty  days  later.  The  Gospel  of  Mark  breaks  off  at  xvi,  8, 
manifestly  because  it  does  not  count  the  resurrection  as 
belonging  in  a  strict  sense  to  the  history  of  Jesus.  Ac- 
cording to  Mark  xvi,  S,  the  women  do  not  deliver  the  angel's 
message  to  the  disciples  ;  according  to  Luke  xxiv,  9,  they  do. 
And  who  are  the  women  who  found  the  grave  empty  ?  Mark 
says,  Maiy  Magdalene,  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and 
Salome ;  Matthew  speaks  only  of  the  two  Marys ;  Luke 
says  there  were  three  and  Joanna.  Two  angels  are  seen 
according  to  Luke ;  one  according  to  Matthew  and  Mark. 

Further,  there  is  no  agreement  touching  the  nature  of 
the  risen  one.  Now  He  is  represented  as  corporeal.  He 
can  be  touched,  and  can  eat.  Again,  He  appears  as  a  su- 
pernatural l)eing.  He  comes  and  goes  suddenly.  He  is 
taken  for  a  ghost.  Holtzmann's  conclusion  is  that  the 
whole  account  of  the  resurrection  is  unhistorical ;  Jesus  did 
not  rise ;  and  Christianity  was  born  the  second  time  of  a 
fond  memor3^ 

The  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Gospel  according  to  John, 
upon  w4iose  story  of  the  raising  of  Lazarus  Strauss  made 
his  bitterest  attack,  has  been  treated  exhaustively  from  a 
conservative  point  of  view.^ 


^Dit  Geschichie  (lev  Aufericeclxung  des  Lazarus.    Yon  F.  L.  Steiu- 
meyer,  Berlin,  1888. 


i 


XBW   TESTAMENT   EXEGESIS.  107 

The  argument  against  the  genuineness  ol"  the  naiTative 
on  the  ground  that  the  event  is  not  referred  to  in  Matthew, 
is  met,  not  by  saying  that  his  field  was  Galilee  rather  than 
Judea,  but  by  the  fact  of  different  aims  on  the  part  of  the 
evangelists.  Matthew's  aim  was  to  show  that  Jesus  was 
the  Messiah  of  the  Jewish  people,  but  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  aim  the  event  in  Bethany  was  not  appropriate 
material.  It  was  just  this  event  that  led  to  the  culmination 
of  Jewish  hate  against  Jesus.  As  such  it  was  received  by 
John.  In  accounting  for  Christ's  sorrow  on  the  receipt  of 
the  news  of  Lazarus'  death,  the  author  advances  the  view 
that  Jesus  saw  in  the  Bethany  family  a  type  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  This  was  the  reason  why  He  was  so  deeply 
touched  by  the  tidings  that  the  circle  had  been  broken. 

The  distinction  between  (pdiv^  and  dya-dy,  long  and 
generally  advocated  on  the  ground  of  classic  usage,  is 
abandoned.  The  better  evidence  of  New  Testament  usage 
is  appealed  to,  and  the  conclusion  is  that  the  words  are 
not  discriminated.  This  conclusion  is  reached  by  an 
American  writer  also,^  after  an  exhaustive  study  of  the 
LXX  and  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  conservative  criticism  of  Meyer  is  pretty  seriously 
transformed  by  some  of  his  editors.  Particularly  is  this 
the  case  with  his  work  on  the  Acts.  His  editor  (see  title 
of  work  under  Introduction)  has  generally  altered  the  his- 
torical and  theological  passages.  In  his  view,  later  and 
unhistorical  tradition  has  left  traces  in  the  Acts.  For  in- 
stance, the  statement  that  the  multitude  perfectly  under- 
stood the  Apostolic  preaching  on  Pentecost  is  legendary. 


-Prof.  Wm.  G.  Ballautine,  D.  D.,  in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra  for  July. 

1889. 


108      ^^I:\V  TESTAMEXT   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

The  speaking  with  tongues  in  Jerusalem  was  what  we  find 
later  in  Corinth.  As  to  the  interpretation  of  Actsxxvi,  2i), 
the  author  goes  back  to  Chrysostom's  explanation.  It 
means  this  :  "With  a  little,  i.  e.,  a  little  more,  thou  makest 
me  a  Christian."  Agrippa  makes  a  half-way  confession 
of  Christ,  not  ironical  but  serious. 

Another  illustration  is  furnished  of  the  universality  and 
depth  of  the  spirit  of  Paul,  of  the  firm  grasp  which  he  had 
upon  the  great  principles  of  Christianity,  and  of  the  need 
which  the  world  still  has  of  his  solution  of  some  of  its  dif- 
ficult problems.  Followhig  the  philological  commentaries 
of  the  past  two  or  three  years  on  the  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians,  there  comes  a  popular  volume",  but  such  a 
one  as  grows  out  of  scientific  study.  It  is  a  forcible  dis- 
cussion of  the  leading  features  of  the  Epistle,  and  conse- 
quently it  IS  a  discussion  of  questions  which  are  largely 
vital  in  our  own  times.  The  writer  comes  near  to  those 
who  regard  Paul  as  the  second  founder  of  the  Christian 
religion.  It  is  to  this  man,  he  says,  that  we  owe  our 
Christianity.  It  was  he  who  disengaged  from  the  dying 
body  of  Judaism  the  new-born  religion,  and  held  it  aloft 
in  the  eye  of  the  world  as  the  true  heir  to  universal  em- 
pire. It  was  he  who  applied  to  the  whole  range  of  human 
life  and  duty  the  inexhaustible  ethical  force  which  lay  in 
Christ,  and  thus  lifted  at  one  effort  the  heathen  world  to  a 
new  level  of  morality. 

Critical  works  which  are  produced  for  the  holders  of  a 
particular  dogma  are  not  likely  to  possess  much  critical 
value.     It  is  well-known  how  the  criticism  of  the  lioman 


■'The  First  Epistle   to   the    Corinthians.     By   Marcus   Dods,  D.  D, 
New  York,  Armstrong  &  Son,  188D. 


XBW    TI-:sTAMi:XT    L\\K(r-/:siS.  100 

Catholic  Church  is  controlled  by  the  Decrees  of  Trent. 
A  recognized  exponent  of  the  Church  of  England,  highlj^ 
endorsed  by  the  organs  of  that  body,  admits  frankly  in  a 
volume  on  Corinthians^  that  he  writes  exegesis  for  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  England.  This  is  to  renounce  in 
advance  the  privilege  of  scientific  investigation.  Given 
the  doctrines  of  the  Established  Church,  and  one  can  fore- 
tell the  scientific  results  to  which  the  exegesis  will  attain. 
To  illustrate  this  from  the  work  in  question.  On  chapter 
iv,  1,  in  I.  Cor.,  where  Paul  speaks  of  himself  as  a  minister 
and  steward,  we  are  told  that  ministers  are  priests  more 
truly  than  Aaron.  .  .  .that  they  dispense  the  mystery  of  the 
Incarnation.  .  .  .and  that  they  stand  between  Christ  and  His 
people. 

So  important  to  Church  action  is  the  actual  presence 
of  a  bishop,  that  the  spirit  of  Paul  is  said  to  have 
been  miraculously  present  with  the  church  in  Corinth 
when  that  body  took  measures  against  the  fornicator.  It 
is  expressly  affirmed  that  the  presence  of  his  spirit  was  not 
by  an  act  of  sympathy  with  what  they  were  doing,  but  by 
a  supernatural  act.  The  excommunication  and  absolu- 
tion of  the  fornicator  are  both  acts  of  the  Apostle  alone. 
Another  illustration  of  the  same  sort  is  found  in  the 
author's  treatment  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  words, 
"This  is  my  body,"  cannot  be  understood  figuratively,  be- 
cause there  is  no  similar  figure  in  Scripture.  In  the  mat- 
ter of  the  Holy  Sacrament  the  Lord  directs  our  attention 
to  the  lower  part  of  His  nature — His  body  and  blood — 
rather  than  to  Himself.     In  all  other  figures — "I  am  the 


^The  First  and  Second  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians,  with  notes  criti 
cal  and  practical.     By.  Rev.  M.  F.  Sadler.     London,  1889. 


110      XFW   TESTA JI EXT   EXEdETK'AL    THEOLOdY. 

Door,  I  am  the  good  Shepherd,'.'  etc. — the  Lord  directs 
attention  to  His  spiritual  nature.  But  here,  in  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Supper,  He  directs  our  thought  to  His  lower 
and  passive  nature,  as  that  through  which  we  are  to  re- 
ceive the  benefits  of  His  redemption.  The  remembrance 
is  made  before  God  and  God  alone.  It  is  also  called  a 
Church  remembrance. 

A  singular  view  of  the  Greek  word  tj.onrr]f>'.ir^  is  adopted 
in  connection  with  the  author's  view  of  the  Supper.  It 
does  not  denote  a  truth  once  hidden,  but  now  made  known 
and  comprehensible.  It  signifies  rather  something  that 
is  unsearchable,  and  ten-fold  more  mysterious  by  reason 
of  the  light  thrown  upon  it.  The  author  admits  the  doc- 
trine of  probation  after  death.  The  man  delivered  over  to 
Satan  (I  Cor.  v,  5)  was  to  be  cutoff  by  death,  but  this  death 
would  not  be  followed  by  eternal  death ;  for  the  punish- 
ment of  temporal  death  would  be  remedial,  and  either 
bring  about  a  repentance,  though  a  very  late  one,  or  else 
his  temporal  death  would  be  taken  in  mitigation  of  his 
punishment  in  the  unseen  world.  This  passage  is  held 
to  be  parallel  to  Matt,  xii,  32,  which  distinctly  implies,  so 
the  author  says,  that  sins  may  be  forgiven  in  the  future 
world. 

A  novel  view  of  the  "spiritual  rock'^  (I  Cor.  x  4)  is  set 
forth  in  a  little  volume  on  Difficult  Passages  of  the  New 
Testament. "^  It  was  not  really  the  rock  itself  which  fol- 
lowed the  Israelites,  but  the  stream  from  the  rock,  and 
this  followed  them  because  they  descended  from  Horeb. 
The  water  came  down  the  same  ravine  with  them. 


'Notes  on  Difficult  Passages  of  the  New  Testament.    By  Elias  Riggs, 
D.  D.,  LL.D.     Cong.  Pub,  Society.  Chicago,  1889. 


^'IJ^V   TESTAMbJXT    EXEGJ^JSIS.  Ill 

Small  addition  lias  bcfii  made  to  the  critical  study  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  An  excellent  popular  volume 
has  appeared/  treating  the  thought  of  the  writing  in  some 
of  its  more  salient  features.  A  second  volume''^  on  this 
Epistle  is  an  ingenious  mosaic  of  quotations. 

Some  acute  suggestions  are  made  as  to  the  rendering 
of  certain  clauses  in  the  Epistle.'^  In  i,  14,  instead  of 
"Jews'  religion-,"  ''Jewish  partizanship"  is  suggested.  The 
difHcult  sentence  in  ii,  2  is  rendered  as  follows:  "I  laid 
before  them  the  Gospel  which  I  preach  among  the  Gentiles, 
but  privateh^  to  those  who  were  thinking  that  possibly  I 
was  running,  or  had  run,  in  vain."  This  gives  oozo^rt-jv 
its  natural  meaning.  Weiss^  transforms  Huther's  com- 
mentary on  the  Epistles  of  John,  extensively  changing  both 
form  and  substance.  His  aim  is  to  combine  the  glossa- 
torial  and  reproductive  methods.  The  positive  explana- 
tion of  the  text  is  placed  in  the  foreground,  and  its  justifi- 
cation is  given  in  continuous  analysis  of  words  and 
connections  which  is  interwoven  with  the  -interpretation. 
Subordinate  place  is  given  to  the  discussion  of  others' views. 
The  grammatical  and  lexical  references  are  few  in  com- 
parison with  those  of  Meyer.  There  is  a  decided  gain  in 
clearness  of  statement.  The  change  of  explanation  is  often 
striking.     For  instance,  Huther's  comment  on  1  John,  i.  5, 


^The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  By  Professor  G.  G.  Findlay.  Lon- 
don, 1888. 

•The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  Biblical  Illustrator.  By  Rev.  Jo- 
seph S.  Exell.     London,  Nisbet  &,  Co.,  1889. 

^^Cf.  the  Expositor,  for  July,  1889. 

*K)itisch  exegetisches  Handbuch  I'ber  die  Briefe  des  Apostels  Jo- 
hannos.    Fiinfte  Auflage  neubearbeitet.     Gottingen,  1888. 


112      yi:W  TESTAJIFXT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

"God  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness  at  all,"  is  to  the 
effect  that  the  word  'darkness' is  a  symbol  of  sin;  ^yhile 
Weiss  regards  it  as  signifying  the  unknown.  Again,  the 
"manifestation"  of  chapter  ii,  28,  is  regarded  by  Huther 
as  the  manifestation  of  God.  The  verb  here  employed 
does  not  denote  the  becoming  visible  of  the  invisible,  but 
the  becoming  known  of  the  unknown. 

Of  the  same  character  as  his  work  on  the  Epistles  of 
John  is  the  work  of  Weiss  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.^ 
Lunemann's  work  is  revised  in  a  thorough  manner.  There 
are  new  views  on  every  page.  It  is  impossible  to  discover 
how  much  of  the  original  is  left  except  by  comparing  the 
new  work  with  it,  line  for  line.  The  volume  by  Eenda.U, 
already  referred  to  under  Introduction,  is  more  suggestive 
than  the  German  commentary.  They  differ  widely  on  some 
important  points.  For  instance,  the  view  of  Weiss  on 
chapter  ii,  10,  is  that  the  sufferings  through  which  Jesus 
passed  on  earth  afforded  Him  opportunity  to  become  per- 
fect, i.  e.,  to  maintain  His  moral  perfection  in  the  extrem- 
est  trial.  Eendall,  looking  at  the  uniform  usage  of  the 
LXX.,  and  also  at  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  takes  the 
verb  rehuHo  in  the  sense  of  "consecrate."  His  idea  of 
the  passage  is,  that  the  sufferings  and  death  through  which 
Jesus  passed  in  His  incarnation,  are  regarded  as  a  conse- 
cration to  His  heavenly  priesthood. 

The  view  of  Weiss,  and  apparently  of  the  Eevisers,  that 
iv,  13  contains  a  figure  borrowed  from  the  language  of 
sacrifice,  is  rejected  by  Kendall,  who  sees  in  it  rather  a  fig- 
ure   from    the    wresthng-school.     The    word    in   question. 


^Kritlsch  exegefisckes  Handbuch  aber  den  Hebrderbrief.      Gottin- 
gen,  1888. 


X£\V   TESTAMEXT    hJXKCi ESlS.  118 

rtzpayr,lt(7ij.i'>'>^  denoted  primarily  one  who  was  mastered 
by  the  grip  of  his  antagonist  on  the  back  of  his  neck.  Philo 
used  it  to  describe  one  who  was  over-mastered  by  distress, 
OY  tyrannized  over  b}'  hist.  Mr.  Kendall's  translation  of 
chapter  vi,  0,  gives  a  new  meaning  to  that  important  pass- 
age. It  is  impossible  to  keep  renewing  again  unto  repent- 
ance those  who  have  been  enlightened  once  for  alb,  etc." 
The  impossible  here  asserted  consists  not  in  a  single  re- 
pentance, but  in  the  indelinite  renewal  of  the  first  vivid 
life  of  the  Spirit  in  the  case  of  Christians  who  are  mean^ 
while  continually  crucifying  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God 
afresh.  The  passage  thus  understood,  is  in  harmony  with 
the  previous  context,  which  maintains  the  need  of  progress- 
ive teaching  as  the  child  grows  into  a  man.  in  Christ,  and 
protests  against  the  constant  reiteration  of  truths  which 
have  lost  their  freshness.  It  is  in  harmony  also  with  the 
subsequent  context,  which  condemns  spiritual  barrenness 
under  the  figure  of  sterile  soil,  which,  season  after  season, 
in  spite  of  fertilizing  rain  and  human  tillage,  produces  only 
thorns  and  thistles.  The  most  important  work  on  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  and  perhaps  the  most  important  commentary 
of  the  past  year,  is  that  by  Westcott.^  It  combines  German 
attention  to  detail,  and  comprehensive  understanding  of 
the  scope  of  the  Epistle.  It  is  elaborate  and  learned  ;  con- 
servative in  tone,  free  from  polemical  matter,  and  fair. 

The  author's  views  on  matters  of  introduction  have  been 
referred  to  in  another  connection.  Mention  may  be  made 
here  of  some  especially  interesting  and  difficult  passages. 
The  'taking  hold  of  a  seed  of  Abraham'  is  understood  as  a 


^The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews:  tlie   Greek  Text  Avitli  Notes  aud  Es- 
says.    London,  1889. 


114      NEW    TESTAMENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

taking  hold  to  help  (ii,  10).  Christ  did  not  take  hold  of 
angels,  to  help  them,  but  took  hold  of  men.  And  indeed, 
He  took  hold  of  a  seed  of  Abraham,  that  is  a  true  seed, 
those  who  are  children  of  faith.  But  this  conception  that 
Christ  took  hold  only  of  those  who  should  believe,  does  not 
seem  to  be  the  necessary  teaching  of  the  verse. 

The  difficult  word  [zpayr^Uazv^)  in  chap,  iv,  13,  is  un- 
derstood in  the  sense  of  'revealed,'  but  the  author  does  not 
say  from  what  image  he  thinks  this  meaning  derived.  He 
does  not  accept  the  reference  to  the  'wrestler.' 

The  words  'without  sin,'  chap,  iv,  15,  are  held  to  de- 
scribe a  limitation  of  Christ's  temptation,  not,  as  in  our 
version,  the  issue  of  His  temptation.  Accordingly,  the 
thought  is,  Christ  met  all  the  temptations  which  we  meet, 
except  those  which  spring  out  of  our  sin.  This  greatly 
limits  the  range  of  His  temptations. 

•  The  'heavenly  things'  of  ix,  23,  which  it  was  necessary 
to  cleanse  with  something  better  than  the  Levitical  sacri- 
fices, are  things  which  embody  the  conditions  of  man's  fu- 
ture life,  things  which  answer  to  the  sanctuary  with  all  its 
furniture.  Various  conceptions  of  the  Epistle  are  treated 
in  separate  essays,  which  to  the  number  of  more  than 
forty,  are  scattered  through  the  volume.  These  constitute 
an  important  feature  of  the  work.  Two  works  ^  on  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  illustrate  the  independent  and  the  dog- 
matic styles  of  exegesis. 

Some  points  are  of  especial  interest.  The  difficult 
passage  in  1  Tim.  ii,  12-15  is  ingeniously  explained  by 
Knoke.     The  word  auOv^rsiy  is  said  to  mean   an   egotistic 


^  Kuoke.     See  title  under  lutrocliiction.     The  Pastoral  Epistles. 
By  Eev.  Alfred  Plnmmer,  D.D.     Armstrono-  &  Son,  New  York,  1889. 


X£\V   TESTA Jf EXT    EXEdESlS.  115 

and  reckless  withdrawment  of  the  woman  from  the  man. 
It  does  not  refer  to  her  having  dominion  over  him.  There 
could  have  been  no  need  of  such  an  injunction  in  one  of 
Paul's  churches.  Further,  this  view  of  the  word  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  latter  part  of  verse  15.  But  the  idea  of 
withdrawment  from  the  husband  may  have  been  a  question 
of  the  day.  That  chastity  which  was  required  by  the 
Christian  faith  might  seem  to  be  best  secured  by  sexual 
abstmence.  With  some  it  was  a  question  whether  the 
married  state  did  not  render  the  attainment  of  salvation 
impossibJe.  Paul  had  to  meet  just  these  ideas  in  his  let- 
ter to  the  Corinthians,  and  similar  views  had  probably 
been  expressed  in  Ephesus.  x\dopting  this  meannig  of 
ado-'.zer,^  the  seuse  of  verse  15  becomes  plain.  Woman 
shall  be  saved.  Her  salvation  is  not  imperilled  by  her 
married  state,  as  some  suppose.  She  shall  be  saved,  if, 
with  child-bearing,  she  continues  in  faith  and  love  and 
sanctification  with  sobriety. 

This  point  is  made  against  the  ordinary  under- 
standuig  of  Paul's  requirement,  that  a  bishop  should  be 
the  husband  of  one  wife.  Paul,  in  verse  9,  requires  that 
a  widow,  in  order  to  be  enrolled  as  a  church- widow,  must 
have  been  the  wife  of  one  man.  In  verse  11:,  he  advises 
the  younger  widows  to  marry.  If  now  the  clause  in  ques- 
tion, "wife  of  one  man,"  meant  that  she  could  be  but  once 
married,  Paul  by  his  advice  to  young  widows  would  be 
cutting  off  the  possibility  of  their  ever  behig  helped  by  the 
Church,  should  they  a  second  time  lose  their  husbands. 
This  is  said  to  be  improbable.  Keference  to  polygamy  is 
thought  to  be  entirely  out  of  the  question.  Hence  the  in- 
junction is  referred  to  chastity.  Cf.  Current  Discussions^ 
Vol.  YI,  p.  126. 


116      XEW    TESTAMENT  EXECiETlCAL   THEOLOGY. 

The  difficulty  of  the  passage,  Titus  ii,  13,  is  avoided 
by  a  new  rendering.  According  to  Knoke,  Christ  is  not 
the  great  God,  but  the  glory  of  the  great  God.  It  is  the 
epiphany  of  this  which  is  anticipated. 

The  two  authors  differ  widely  touching  the  "laver  of 
regeneration"  (Titus  iii,  5).  The  English  w^riter  declares 
that,  according  to  Paul,  regeneration  takes  place  by  means 
of  the  baptismal  washing.  This  is  said  to  be  the  natural 
and  almost  necessary  meaning  of  the  Greek  construction 
(d'A  with  the  genitive).  The  German  writer,  on  the  other 
hand,  finds  no  reference  to  the  baptism  of  individual  Christ- 
ians. The  expression  "laverof  regeneration"  is  taken  figu- 
ratively, and  its  meaning  is  said  to  be  determined  by  that 
of  the  following  clause,  "the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 
This  refers  to  an  event  which  took  place  in  connection  with 
the  appearance  of  the  goodness  of  God,  i.  e.,  to  the  out- 
pouring of  the  Holy  Spirit  at  Pentecost.  This  is  called  a 
renewing  in  view  of  the  sporadic  and  partial  outpourings  of 
the  Spirit  upon  the  prophets.  The  laver  of  regeneration 
denotes  essentially  the  same  thing.  The  language  is  based 
upon  the  promise  to  the  prophets  that  when  the  new  cove- 
nant should  be  made  with  Israel,  they  should  receive  new 
hearts.     This  promise  was  fulfilled  at  Pentecost. 

The  right  of  praying  for  the  departed  is  argued  by  the 
English  writer  on  the  ground  of  II  Tim.  i,  15-18.  The 
balance  of  probability  is  said  to  be  decidedly  in  favor  of 
the  view  that  Onesiphorus  was  already  dead  when  Paul 
wrote  these  words.  For  the  house  of  Onesiphorus  is  spoken 
of  in  connection  with  the  present,  while  Onesiphorus  him- 
self is  connected  with  the  past.  Then,  Paul  sends  greeting 
to  the  house  of  Onesiphorus,  not  to  Onesiphorus  himself. 


NEW  TESTAMENT   EXEGESIS.  117 

And  finally  the  form  of  Paul's  prayer  points  to  the  death 
of  Onesiphorus  as  already  accomplished. 

The  exegesis  of  the  Apocalypse  can  scarcely  be  said  to 
have  been  furthered  by  works  of  the  past  year.  The 
Bishop  of  Liverpool,  in  the  preface  to  a  pojDular  commen- 
tary by  Mr.  Graham,^  says  that  the  x\pocalypse  is  a  book 
of  hieroglyphics,  that  we  have  at  present  no  key  to  their 
meaning,  and  must  be  content  with  modest  conjectures. 
And  yet,  strangely  enough,  this  commentary  on  a  book  for 
whose  interpretation  we  have  no  key,  this  commentary 
which  consists  of  modest  conjectures,  is  said  to  have  food 
for  all  classes  of  Christians,  and  to  be  adapted  to  do  good 
to  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity.  Some 
people  wall  differ  from  the  Lord  Bishop  in  regard  to  the 
spiritual  value  of  guess-work  in  Bible  interpretation. 

The  author  seems  to  have  no  definite  theory  of  interpre- 
tation, and  to  lack  that  sobriet}^  of  scholarship  wdiich  is 
most  emphatically  required  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
Apocalypse.  For  instance,  the  seven  churches  are  thought 
to  correspond  to  seven  periods  of  history,  which  cover  the 
past  eighteen  centuries.  Only  the  author  finds  it  neces- 
sary to  skip  the  Eeformation  period,  perhaps  the  most  im- 
portant of  all  since  the  Apostolic.  This  fanciful  scheme 
of  dividing  history  makes  it  necessary  to  call  the  modern 
period  the  Laodicean.  The  Church  of  this  century  is 
neither  dead  nor  alive.  Such  a  conclusion  bears  hard 
upon  the  theory. 

Again,  the  rider  on  the  white  horse,  chapter  vi,  is  said 
to  be  the  Antichrist,  because  he  seems  to  conquer  by  irre- 


^A  Popular  Commentary  on  the  Book  of  the  Revelation.      LondoD, 

1889. 


118      NEW   TESTAMENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

sistible  fascination.  The  author  thinks  it  is  due  to  the  god 
of  this  world  that  the  Apocalypse  is  an  enigma  to  so  many 
Christians.  Some  people,  however,  may  still  be  inclined 
to  think  the  result  is  due  to  bad  commentaries  rather  than 
to  Satan. 

The  work  of  Eremita^  combines  different  principles  of 
exegesis.  Sometimes  the  text  is  interpreted  symbolically, 
sometimes  realistically.  For  instance,  the  first  beast  sym- 
bolizes earthly  power  in  general ;  the  second  beast,  false 
teaching  in  general;  but  the  thousand  years  are  taken  lit- 
erally, and  the  cubic  form  of  the  city,  the  New  Jerusalem, 
is  also  understood  realistically. 

The  American  contingent^  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
Apocalypse  has  less  claim  to  be  considered  scientific. 
Nothing  is  clearer,  according  to  the  author,  than  that  the 
thousand  years  of  John  are  found  in  the  Old  Testament 
prophets.  The  truth  is  said  to  blaze  everywhere  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New,  that  the  second  coming  of  Christ 
precedes  the  Millennium.  The  author  has  made  it  3o  plain 
that  the  seventieth  week  of  Daniel  is  contemporary  with 
the  times  of  the  Apocalypse  iv-xix,  that,  as  he  affirms,  com- 
pound myopic  hypertropic  stigmatism  could  hardly  fail  to 
see  it.  The  New  Jerusalem  is  a  literal  material  city,  in 
which  God  will  manifest  Himself  forever.  This  very  earth, 
made  new,  shall  be  for  all  the  creation  of  God  a  center 
where  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be,  and 
wherein  the  Church  with  Christ  shall  reign  forever,  dis- 


^ Erkldrung  von  der  Offenbarung  Johannes.  Cap.  x-xxii.  Guters- 
loli,  1888. 

^The  Thousand  Years  in  both  Testaments.  By  Kev.  Natlianael  "West, 
D.  D.     Chicago,  1889. 


XFW  TESTA^fEXT    EXEGESTS.  IIJ) 

pensing  therefrom  the  economy  of  all  the  worlds.  During 
the  thousand  years  there  will  be  a  seven-fold  increase  of 
light,  solar  and  lunar ;  there  will  be  a  yearly  concourse  of 
people  from  all  nations  to  Jerusalem  to  worship ;  and  the 
risen  saints  will  have  material  bodies  adapted  to  spirit- 
ual uses,  and  free  from  certain  physical  functions. 


CHAPTEE  lY. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    HISTORY. 


There  has  been  comparatively  httle  discussion  along 
the  lines  covered  b}^  this  rubric.  The  Life  and  Work  of 
John  the  Baptist'^  have  been  treated  in  a  popular  and 
not  whollj^  satisfactor}'  manner.  The  author  draws  pretty 
strongh^  upon  his  imagination.  For  instance,  he  says  that 
in  the  social  life  of  Hebron  the  parents  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist held  a  leading  position.  Their  home  was  visited  by  the 
learned  and  refined,  who  held  them,  and  consequently  their 
son,  in  the  highest  respect,  and  who  insensibly  exerted 
over  the  lad  a  most  favorable  educating  influence.  And 
so  throughout  the  book,  that  which  is  purely  h57)othetical 
is  stated  as  though  it  were  a  well  authenticated  historical 
fact.  The  author  states  that  John's  conception  of  the 
coming  Messianic  Kingdom  was  quite  different  from  that 
of  his  countrymen,  that  his  was  spiritual  while  theirs  was 
material.  This  view,  however,  is  not  substantiated  by  the 
evidence  adduced. 

The  History  of  the  Rabbi  Jesus  of  Nazareth^  brings  a 
strange  mixture  of  metaphysics   and   exegesis.     The  out- 


^John  the  Baptist,  His  Life  and  Work.  By  Boss  C.  Houghton, 
New  York,  1889. 

"Die  Geschichte  (les  RahM  Jesu  von  Nazareth.  Yon  H.  C.  Hugo 
Delflf.     Leipzig,  1889.    . 


\j:\v  tkstamhxt  iiisroin'.  vn 

line  of  Jesus'  career  is  as  follows  :  He  was  born  in  Naza- 
reth of  Joseph  and  ^lary.  He  was  over  forty  years  old 
when  He  began  His  ministry.  At  first  He  attached  Himself 
to  John  the  Baptist,  and  taught  according  to  the  custtmi- 
ary  form  of  the  Haggada.  Gradually  He  began  to  go  His 
own  ways,  and  claimed  a  peculiar  authorit_y,  higher  than 
John's.  At  first  He  met  the  opposition  of  the  Pharisees 
in  a  friendly  spirit,  but  when  this  failed  to  be  effectual.  He 
lost  patience,  and  used  hard  and  bitter  words.  He  at- 
tacked the  Pharisaic  party  by  openly  transgressing  the 
Sabbath  law.  The  author  thinks  that  Lazarus  was  not  ab- 
solutely dead  but  in  a  cataleptic  condition.  In  general 
the  works  of  Jesus  do  not  concern  us.  The  narrative  con- 
cerning them  may  be  mythical,  but  that  does  not  not  affect 
our  confidence  in  Him.  It  is  even  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  us  whether  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  is  a  fact  or  a 
dream  or  a  simple  rumor.  For  we  are  sufficiently  cul- 
tured to  be  able  to  hold,  as  possible,  an  existence  in  spirit 
or  as  spirit,  and  a  continued  influence  of  such  spiritual 
existence  upon  us.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  it  has 
always  belonged  to  the  fate  of  the  hero  that  he  should  rise 
from  the  dead  and  be  glorified.  As  to  the  story  of  Christ's 
resurrection,  each  one  is  to  believe  as  much  of  it  as  his 
genius  permits  him. 

Piegarding  contemporary  writers  on  the  life  of  Christ, 
the  author's  opinion  is  not  very  favorable.  Weiss  is  a 
scholastic  of  the  seventeenth  century  in  the  dress  of  the 
nineteenth.  Beyschlag  is  too  theological  to  be  historical. 
Hausrath,  Keim,  Holtzmann  and  Pfleiderer,  as  they  reject 
the  Fourth  Gospel,  reach  only  artificial  and  untenable 
results. 


122      ^^^^V  TESTAMEyr   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

In  splendid  contrast  with  this  work  of  Delff,  stands  the 
stor}^  of  Christ  as  told  by  an  English  writer.^  The  author 
does  not  present  new^  views  on  the  gl'eat  facts  of  the  Life 
of  lives,  or  new  solutions  of  difficulties  that  meet  the  stu- 
dent of  the  Gospels ;  but,  having  largely  appropriated  the 
best  results  of  modern  scholarship,  and  confessing  the 
faith  of  the  early  Church,  he  writes  a  biography  of  Jesus 
which  is  remarkable  both  for  its  concentration  and  its 
poetical  power.  The  special  aim  is  to  contribute  to  the 
moral  and  spiritual  history  of  Christ,  and  this  in  some 
especial  relation  to  missionary  work  and  the  contact  of 
Christianity  wdth  non-Christian  religions.  There  is  some- 
times a  positiveness  of  statement  that  is  scarcely  war- 
ranted by  the  facts.  For  instance,  the  journey  of  the 
Magi  is  said  to  have  taken  altogether  about  two  years,  and 
the  birth  of  Christ  is  said  to  have  occurred  in  December,  5 
B.  C.  Again,  it  is  stated  as  beyond  question  that  Judas 
alone  of  the  twelve  Apostles  was  of  Judean  origin,  and 
that  all  the  others  were  Galileans.  Christ's  transfigura- 
tion surely  took  place  upon  one  of  the  elevations  of  the 
snowy  height  of  Hermon ;  and  at  His  ascension  He  was 
escorted  by  a  guard  of  angels.  Though  aiming  to  contrib- 
ute to  the  spiritual  history  of  Jesus,  the  conception  is  some- 
tmies  questionably  realistic.  For  instance,  in  speaking  of 
the  Temptation,  the  author  says  that  an  external  coming 
of  Satan  alone  satisfies  the  conditions  of  the  narrative. 
The  history  must  be  accepted  as  authentic  or  relegated  to 
the  region  of  myth.     But  here  he  assumes  that  the  narra- 


^Jesus  Christ  the  Divine  Mau  .  His  Life  and  Times.     By  T.  F.  Val- 
lings,  M.  A.     NeAv  York,  Kandolph  &  Co.,  1889. 


NEW   TESTAMENT   HISTORY.  123 

tive  is  a  history  of  objective  events.  This  is  the  very  point 
at  issue. 

The  author  accepts  Edersheim's  view  of  the  transpor- 
tation of  Jesus  from  the  wilderness  to  Jerusalem.  "As  the 
Spirit  of  God  had  driven  Jesus  into  the  wilderness,  the 
spirit  of  the  devil  now  carried  Him  into  Jerusalem.'"  This 
seems  to  be  a  grotesque  idea,  worthy  of  the  apocryphal 
gospels. 

An  important  question  concerning  Jesus'  family  rela- 
tions is  disposed  of  summarily  in  a  sentence  regarding  the 
miracle  at  Nain.  The  author  says,  "The  only  Son  of 
His  Mother  feels  for  the  mother  of  an  only  son."  But  it 
is  something  of  an  assumption  that  Jesus  was  the  only  Son 
of  His  Mother. 

In  speaking  of  the  apostolic  decree  a  recent  writer^ 
thinks  that  the  journey  of  Acts  xi,  3;  xii,  25,  which  is 
omitted  by  Paul  in  Galatians,  must  either  be  supposed  to 
have  dropped  out  of  Paul's  m-emory,  which  is  not  probable, 
or  that  the  author  of  Acts  has  introduced  here  a  journey 
which  belongs  to  a  later  day.  It  is  held  to  be  unhistorical 
to  represent  Paul  as  participating  in  the  formulation  and 
promulgation  of  the  decree.  That  decree  enjoins  a  partial 
subjection  to  the  law  on  the  part  of  Gentile  Christians,  a 
thing  wholly  opposed  to  Paul's  conception  of  Christianity. 
He  agreed  in  a  measure  with  the  requirements  of  the  de- 
cree. For  instance,  he  objected,  in  certain  cases,  to  the 
eating  of  meat  offered  to  idols,  but  he  did  this  on  entirely 
different  grounds  from  those  recognized  in  the  decrees  of 
the  Council.     The  Acts  throughout,  it  is   said,  represent 

^Das  AjwsteUkkret.     Von  Joh.  Georg  Sommer.     Koiiigsberg,  1881). 


124      ^^£!^V  TESTAMENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Paul  as  a  faithful  keeper  of  the  Law,  and  betray  no  trace 
of  his  true  relation  to  it.  This  indicates  that  the  author 
was  a  Jewish  Christian,  friendly  to  Paul  but  unconsciously 
presenting  him  in  a  false  light.  The  apostolic  decrees  are 
thought  of  as  having  been  occasioned  by  Paul's  report  upon 
the  state  of  things  in  Antioch,  and  as  having  been  ascribed 
in  part  to  him,  in  order  to  give  them  the  greater  force. 


I 


CHAPTEK  V. 


NEW    TESTA:\rENT    THEOLOGY. 


The  chief,  if  not  sole  problem,  of  New  Testament  the- 
ology is,  according  to  a  recent  writer^  to  ascertain  what 
answer  the  New  Testament  gives  to  the  question.  What  is 
the  siiuDmim  honam.^  It  is  the  study  of  tllfe  leading  types 
of  doctrine  concerning  the  things  freely  given  to  us  of  God 
in  Jesus  Christ.  The  author  admits  that  this  may  not  be 
exhaustive,  but  thinks  it  has  the  merit  of  definiteness  and 
interest.  Sucii  a  method  as  that  of  Weiss  he  character- 
izes as  vague.  His  own  work  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  a 
treatise  on  New  Testament  theology,  but  on  certain  fea- 
tures of  the  same,  which  the  author  regards  as  fundamen- 
tal. He  finds  four  types  of  doctrine  in  the  New  Testament, 
described  by  the  titles :  The  Kingdom  of  God,  The  Eight- 
eousness  of  God,  Free  Access  to  God,  Eternal  Life.  The 
volume  in  hand  is  concerned  with  the  first  of  these  types. 
But  yet  it  does  not  give  us  the  entire  New  Testament 
teaching  on  this  topic ;  it  is  confined  to  the  S^moptists. 
Now,  while  it  is  true  that  this  conception  is  more  promi- 
nent in  the  first  three  Gospels  than  elsewhere  in  the  New 
Testament,  it  may  be  a  question  whether  it  is  in  the  inter- 


^The  Kingdom  of  God;  or  Christ's  Teaching  according  to  the  Sy- 
noptical Gospels"  By  Alexander  Balmain  Bruce.  D.  D.  Scribner, 
New  York,  1889. 


126      ^'£^V  TESTAMEXr   EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

est  of  truth  to  consider  the  conception  onl}^  as  we  meet  it 
in  the  Synoptical  Gospels. 

The  present  volume  on  the  Kingdom  of  God  cannot  be 
charged  with  anj-  neglect  of  the  negative  critics.  It  will 
rather  be  said  that  it  gives  them  too  much  consideration. 
The  author  differs  from  Weiss  regarding  Christ's  concep- 
tion of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  He  thinks  that  Christ  ideal- 
ized the  Old  Testament  conception.  He  emphasizes  what 
he  considers  new  in  Christ's  views.  According  to  Weiss, 
Christ  was  more  conservative  and  more  in  line  with 
the  Old  Testament.  Prof.  Bruce  thinks  that  Christ's  con- 
ception Avas  new  as  regards  grace,  universality  and  spirit- 
uality. Some,  however,  would  say  that  in  these  particu- 
lars Christ  taught  nothing  new,  but  only  emphasized  Old 
Testament  thoughts. 

The  author  holds  that  Jesus  regarded  Himself  habitu- 
ally and  from  the  first  as  Messiah,  but  also  that  His 
Messianic  consciousness  underwent  gradual  development, 
advancing  from  twilight  to  perfect  day.  This  advance 
Avas  promoted  by  the  Baptism,  the  Temptation,  the  Mira- 
cles, the  Transfiguration,  and  Christ's  fellowship  with  God. 
He  thinks  the  form  of  the  Messianic  consciousness  was  de- 
termined by  Christ's  spiritual  nature.  He  gathered  up  out 
of  the  Old  Testament,  as  by  elective  affinity,  those  elements 
which  were  congenial  to  Him.  He  chose  the  conception  of 
a  gentle,  missionary,  suffering  Messiah.  The  author  finds 
the  source  of  Messianic  consciousness  not  so  much  in 
Christ's  holiness  as  in  His  love  for  men.  He  thinks  it  was 
a  matter  of  faith  with  Jesus. 

Especially  valuable  is  the  discussion  of  the  Parousia 
and  the  Judgment.     The  author  holds  that  Christ  looked 


i\^/;ir  Ti:sTAMi:yr  'niiinLonv.  127 

forward  to  a  Christian  era.  He  did  not  expect  the  end  in 
a  short  time,  as  some  have  hekl.  In  some  of  His  parahles 
He  represents  the  Kingdom  as  subject  to  hxws  of  growth. 
Again  he  speaks  of  the  delay  of  the  Parousia,  and  exhorts 
to  watchfuhiess.  Those  passages  which  suggest  a  Gentile 
day  of  grace  also  imply  a  lengthened  Christian  Era. 

The  author  adopts  Holtzmann's  classification  of  the 
passages  referring  to  Christ's  coming  again,  according  to 
which  three  comings  are  spoken  of,  viz.,  a  dynamical 
coming,  which  is  in  the  heart  of  the  believer;  a  historical 
coming,  such  as  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem ;  and  the 
apocalyptic  coming  at  the  end  of  the  age. 

The  judgment  of  the  heathen  will  be  purely  ethical.  It 
will  not  be  according  to  their  treatment  of  Christ,  but  accord- 
ing to  their  treatment  of  the  poor  and  suffering, -the  brethren 
of  Christ.  "All  who  live  in  the  spirit  of  love  the  Son  of 
Man  recognizes  as  Christians  unawares,  and  therefore  as 
heirs  of  the  Kingdom.  All  who  live  a  loveless  life  of 
selfishness  He  relegates  to  the  congenial  society  of  the 
devil  and  his  angels. 

While  recognizing  that  there  was,  among  the  believers 
m  Israel,  a  living  fellowship  with  God  in  prayer,  it  is  held^ 
that  this  fellowship  differed  in  not  a  few  important  partic- 
ulars from  that  of  the  New  Testament  believer.  The  Old 
Testament  supplicant  has  a  lively  appreciation  of  the  fact 
that  God's  bearing  toward  him  is  fatherly,  but  yet  he  does 
not  conceive  of  God  as  a  father.  This  is  manifested  in 
various  ways.  The  Old  Testament  believer  shows  a  fre- 
quent desire  to  legitimate  himself  before  God,  and    does 


^Da»    Gebet  im  Alten   Testament  im  Lichte    dcs   Neuen    hetraehtet 
Von  Lie.  Tlieol.     Konigsberg,  188U. 


128      XEW  TESTAMENT  EXEGETlCAL    THEOLOGY. 

this  in  long  introductions  to  his  prayers.  Even  when 
there  is  confidence  in  the  grace  of  God,  the  supphant 
cries  unto  the  Lord  that  he  would  hear  him.  In  the  New 
Testament,  the  behever  knows  at  the  outset  that  God  will 
hear  him.  He  does  not  think  it  is  necessary  to  beseech 
God  to  open  His  ear  to  him.  Again,  the  Old  Testament 
believer  prays  earnestly  for  the  granting  of  a  particular 
request — prays  as  though  his  prayer  would  be  in  vain  were 
this  not  granted.  The  New  Testament  behever,  on  the 
other  hand,  recognizes  that  the  Father  has  many  ways  to 
help.     Hence  there  is  here  more  of  quiet  resignation. 

The  personal  communion  of  the  believer  with  God, 
according  to  the  Old  Testament,  is  a  conception  dominated 
by  the  grace  of  God,  while  in  the  New  Testament  it  is  con- 
trolled by  the  conception  of  His  love.  The  thought  of  be- 
ing loved  by  the  Father  has  the  emphasis  that  the  Old 
Testament  gives  to  God's  grace  toward  the  sinner.  The 
Lord's  Prayer  contains  no  petitions  that  are  foreign  to  the 
Old  Testament,  and  yet  it  is  all  new  because  of  the  new 
conception  of  Him  to  whom  it  is  offered.  x\nd  this  it  is 
that  explains  all  the  difference  between  the  .Old  Testament 
spirit  of  prayer  and  that  of  the  New.  The  relation  of  a 
servant  to  his  master  has  given  place  to  that  of  a  child  to 
its  father. 

In  a  book  already  mentioned  (Eendall  on  the  Hebrews) 
Paul's  attitude  toward  the  Law  is  characterized  as  over 
against  the  attitude  of  the  other  Apostles.  Paul  regarded 
the  Law  as  an  incidental  and  temporary  addition,  almost 
of  the  nature  of  an  interruption  of  God's  original  cove- 
nant. This  attitude  was  the  inevitable  outcome  of  his 
education.  He  regarded  it  with  the  purely  legal  spirit  of 
the  Pharisees. 


I\E\V    TKSTAMKyr    TUFJ)lJ)(iY.  121) 

The  attitude  of  James  was  quite  dittereiit  from  this. 
For  him  the  Gospel  was  not  a  message  of  dehverance  from 
the  condemnation  of  the  Law,  but  a  fresh  means  of  grace 
for  a  more  perfect  obedience  to  its  commands.  When 
•Tames  spoke  of  righteousness,  he  did  not  mean,  hke  Paul, 
the  original  acceptance  before  God  which  makes  the  start- 
ing-point of  Christian  life,  but  rather  the  inward  peace 
of  conscience  which  is  the  fruit  of  holy  living.  With  him 
faith  consists  not  so  much  in  the  abando  ment  of  all  self- 
confidence,  that  we  may  throw  ourselves  on  the  merit  of  a 
crucified  Saviour,  as  in  the  sustaining  principle  of  a  life 
given  to  God.  The  author  of  the  Hebrews  was  a  man  of 
the  same  type  as  James.  For  him  thj  Gospel  was  the  nat- 
ural climax  of  the  Mosaic  Law,  and  the  key  to  its  com- 
prehension. The  Law  was  an  earlier  Gospel,  which  failed 
only  for  lack  of  faith. 

The  angelology  and  demonology  of  Paul  has  for  the 
first  time  received  in  ependent  treatment.^  This  is  a 
chapter  of  Paul's  theology  which  has  been  neglected.  The 
author  agrees  with  Ritschl  that  Paul  did  not  regard  all 
angels  as  either  positively  good  or  positively  bad.  He  be- 
lieves that  there  were  both  these  classes,  but  also  a  class 
which  stood  in  a  relative  antithesis  to  God.  The  angels  as 
such  are  capable  of  going  astray  (I  Cor.  x,  ii),and  capable 
also  of  receiving  a  reconciliation  through  Christ  (Eph. 
i,  10).  Paul's  angelic  world  is  a  world  thoroughly  disor- 
ganized and  full  of  dark  forms.  It  is  not  a  sphere  of  pure 
poetry,  where  winged  forms  of  light  lead  a  blessed  exist- 
ence.    It  is  a  world  of  definitely  marked  classes.     There 


'D<V    Paulinische  Angelohxjie  und    D'fmonolocfie.     Von  Otto  Ever- 
ling,  Gottingen.  1888. 


130      NEW    TESTA3IENT  EXEGETICAL    THEOLOGY. 

are  orders  of  the  good,  thrones  and  dominions  heing  the 
highest,  and  hkewise  orders  of  the  had,  with  Satan  at  their 
head.  Satan's  influence  upon  men  is  regarded  as  physi- 
cal rather  than  ethical  (I  Cor.  v,  5 ;  II  Cor.  xii,  7  ;  I  Cor. 
xi,3;  Rom.  xvi,  20).  Satan  and  his  hosts  are  thought  of 
as  dwelling  in  the  air  between  tli;::  earth  and  heaven.  The 
dwelling  place  of  good  angels  is  yet  higher.  The  practical 
religious  value  of  Paul's  teaching  concerning  angels  and 
demons  is  not  discussed.  Th^  author's  view,  however, 
seems  to  be  that  the  conceptions  of  Paul  have  become 
obsolete. 

We  have  an  interesting  discussion  of  the  activity  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  according  to  the  popular  conception  of  the 
apostolic  age  and  according  to  the  teaching  of  Paul.^  In 
the  popular  conception,  the  Spirit  is  not  thought  of  as  the 
author  of  all  Christian  activities ;  and  further,  some  activi- 
ties not  moral  or  religious  are  ascribed  to  the  Spirit.  The 
common  religious  functions  of  the  simple  Christian  were 
not  regarded  as  gifts  of  the  Spirit ;  indeed,  it  is  held  that 
not  all  gifts  of  the  Spirit  had  direct  influence  upon  the 
Christian  life.     Cf.  Acts,  x,  19;  xvi,  6. 

The  symptom  of  the  Spirit's  activity  is  the  presence  of 
something  mysterious  and  powerful.  The  confirmation  of 
the  Spirit's  presence  is  according  to  the  law  of  cause  anu 
effect,  not  the  law  of  means  and  end. 

When  wisdom  is  derived  from  the  Spirit,  it  is  of  a 
special  irresistible  kind.  Faith  that  is  traced  to  the  Spirit 
is  of  a  special  character.     The  Old  Testament  conception 


^Die  Wirlxuiif/en  des  htiligen  Geistes  nach  denpopuhiren  Anschauun- 
fjen  der  ax>oHtolischen  ZeU  und  nach  der  Lelire  den  Apostel  Paiilus. 
Von  Hermann  Gunkel,  Gottingen,  1888. 


I 


X£\V   TESTAMENT    TIIEOLodV.  l^l 

of  the  Spirit's  activity  was  wider  than  that  of  the  New 
Testament.  There  everything  mysterious  and  powerful 
in  Israel  was  attributed  to  the  Spirit ;  here  everything 
mysterious  and  powerful  in  the  Christian  Church. 

Both  in  the  popular  conception  and  in  the  teaching  of 
Paul,  the  Spirit  was  thought  of  as  material.  The  laying 
on  of  hands,  breathing  upon  disciples,  events  of  Pentecost, 
and  other  indications  support  this  view. 

Paul  is  pneumatic.  His  standard  for  judging  the  gifts 
of  the  Spirit  is-  higher  than  that  of  the  Corinthian  Church. 
He  esteems  the  Spirit's  gifts  according  as  they  tend  to  the 
edification  of  the  Church,  not  as  they  excite  amazement. 
Paul's  conception  of  the  activity  of  the  Spirit  was  broader 
and  deeper  than  that  of  his  time.  People  in  general  held 
the  extraordinary  to  be  pneumatic,  Paul,  the  ordinary. 
With  him  the  Christian  life  itself  was  pneumatic.  The 
root  of  this  teaching  lay  in  Paul's  own  experience. 


HISTOEICAL   THEOLOGY. 


PRESENT    STATE 

OF 

STUDIES   IN    CHURCH   HISTORY. 

BY 

REV.  HUGH  M.  SCOTT, 

PiiOFESsoE  OF  Ecclesiastical  Histoey 

IN 

Chicago  Theological  Seminaey. 


INTRODUCTION. 

ORIGIN    OF    CHRISTIANITY. 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  in  recent  secular  literature 
the  growing  conviction  expressed  that  the  heart  of  human 
history,  as  that  of  the  individual  man,  must  be  regarded 
from  the  religious  point  of  view.  The  Neapolitan  philoso- 
pher Chiapelli,  in  turning  thinking  Italians  towards  the 
golden  mean  between  Papal  superstition  and  blank  athe- 
ism says,^  *'the  great  epochs  in  the  history  of  the  world  are 
marked,  not  by  the  overturning  of  empires  or  the  migra- 
tion of  nations,  such  things  belong  to  the  external  history ; 
but  the  real  history,  the  inner  history  of  man  is  the  history 
of  religion."  That  is  just  the  thought  with  which  the 
Church  historian  naturally  begins  his  work.  A  recent 
writer^  sets  out  by  saying  that  the  history  of  Christianity  is 
the  inner  history  of  the  world,  for  it  is  moral  ideas  which 
govern  the  inner  development  of  the  human  race,  and 
Christianity  has  multiplied  these  moral  ideas,  transformed 
them,  and  brought  them  into  new  connections  by  a  new  re- 
ligion. The  gospel  gave  to  mankind  the  ideas  of  a  new  re- 
ligion, whose  center  is  Jesus,  the  representative  of  God ; 
his  sole  mission   is  to   preach    the    gospel ;  his  aim  is  to 


'Le  Idee  Millenarie  del  Christiani.    Naples,  1888.     A  Lecture. 
-Sell,  Aus  der  Geschichte  des  Christenthums.  Six  Lectures.  Darm- 
stadt, 1888.  Suggestive. 


136  IIISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

gather  a  people  of  God  about  the  throne  of  the  Divine  King. 
But  are  not  these  fundamental  ideas  of  Christianity  con- 
tained in  New  Testament  writings,  and  has  not  the  Higher 
Criticism  made  their  statements  very  doubtful  ?  Sell  re- 
plies, By  no  means.  These  foundation  truths  of  Christ- 
ianity, he  says,  are  beyond  the  doubts  of  criticism,  for  they 
are  rooted  in  New  Testament  writings,  which  all  admit  to 
be  primitive  records,  such  as  the  Gospels  of  Mark  and 
Matthew,  and  the  four  great  Epistles  of  Paul.  Hence,  he 
continues,  "the  fundamental  contradiction  between  the  ear- 
lier and  later  traditions  of  the  Christian  Church,  which 
negative  criticism  maintains,  does  not  exist. "^  To  grasp 
the  underlying  thoughts  of  early  Christian  life,  we  must 
have  a  Christian  experience  of  the  Gospel  which  formed  the 
heart  of  that  Apostolic  Church.  Those  early  brotherhoods 
with  their  officers,  and  sacraments,  and  associations  were 
very  similar  to  many  Jewish  and  heathen  societies ;  what 
made  them  different  from  all  others  was  the  conviction  that 
they  possessed  a  real,  new,  living  revelation  of  God,  that 
they  stood  upon  the  ground  of  an  old  history  of  redemption, 
and  that  they  alone  had  a  mission  for  all  men.  With  such 
convictions  they  opposed  the  religion  of  Eome,  a  deifica- 
tion of  this  world  and  its  relations,  a  belief  in  the  divinity 
of  theworldas  it  is;  they  preached  "faith  in  an  ever  exist- 
ing God,  who  rules  over  a  world  that  is  passing  away." 
The  new  Evangel  proclaimed  "real  entrance  into  an  ever- 
lasting empire  of  liberty,  equality  and  fraternity."  Hence, 
as  Paul  points  out  in  an  article  on  Harnack's  History  of 


^Cf.  also  the  interesting  work  of  C.  E.  Johansson;  German  by  J. 
Ctaussen,  Die  heilige  Schruft  u.  die  negative  Kritik.  Leipzig,  Dorff- 
ling  &  Franke.  1889. 


ORKilX    OF    I'liniSTlAXITY.  137 

Doctrine,^  original  Christianity  Avas  life  mtlier  than  doc- 
trine. It  rested  for  the  most  part  upon  the  impression  of 
the  person  of  Christ  gained  by  Christians  from  the  Old 
Testament  and  in  view  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  there  fore- 
told. Besides  this  Old  Testament  element  in  the  forma- 
tion of  earh'  Christianity,  there  came  an  element  from 
Hellenism,  which  soon  thrust  aside  most  of  St.  Paul's  teach- 
ings, except  the  thought  of  the  universality  of  the  Gospel. 
But  Baur,  we  are  told,  was  not  right  in  calling  Paul's  own 
theology  Hellenistic;  Harnack  holds  that  here  we  have  al- 
ways the  teaching  of  a  converted  Pharisee.  Harnack  agrees 
with  Baur  that  Paulinism  is  not  sufticient  to  explain  the 
post-Pauline  development  of  the  Church  ;  another  element 
must  be  brought  in  for  that  purpose.  Baur  found  this  in 
national  Jewish  Christianity,  which,  in  conflict  with  St. 
Paul's  Hellenism,  gave  rise  to  early  Catholic  theology. 
Harnack  rejects  this,  as  we  know;*-^  but  Paul  (1.  c.)  thinks 
the  studies  of  Lipsius  on  the  Apocryphal  Acts  show  that 
the  influence  of  Jewish  Christianity  upon  early  CathoKcism 
must  be  recognized,  especially  after  A.  D.  150,  when  it 
became  denationalized,  lost  Jewish  narrowness,  and  re- 
ceived speculative  coloring  from  both  East  and  West.  Paul 
accepts  here  Harnack's  statement,  that  the  bridge  from 
Judaism  to  Heathenism  for  the  early  Church  was  this 
Hellenistic  Jewish  Christianity,  scattered  through  the  Pa- 
gan world  as  a  mediator  between  the  Old  Testament  and 
Gentile  thought,  and  gives  it  wider  application.  He  thinks 
it  is  a  special  merit  of  Harnack  to  have  pointed  out  that 
the  influence  of  Hellenism  in  the  Church  grew  just  in  pro- 


'Cf.     Jahrbb.f.  Protest.     Theologie.     April,  1880. 
-Cf.     Current  Discusfiions.   Vol.  V.  1888,  p.  153. 


138  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

portion  to  the  decline  of  the  original,  predominant,  enthu- 
siastic, charismatic  element  in  early  Christianity.  In  this 
chilling  atmosphere  of  Graeco-Eoman  thought,  during  the 
second  century,  the  formhig  Church  hecame  crystalHzed. 
The  simple  congregational  brotherhood  became  an  ecclesi- 
astical system.  The  prophetic  ministry,  exercised  by  any 
believer  who  felt  called,  became  confined  to  certain  clergy. 
The  free,  extempore  prayers  ran  towards  liturgical  forms. 
The  brief  baptismal  confession  hardened  into  a  creed.  Fra- 
ternal addresses  turned  into  theological  discourses;  and 
the  Church  became  a  School.  It  is  a  merit  of  Harnack  to 
have  made  prominent  this  process  of  petrifaction  by  which 
the  primitive  charismatic  Congregational  Church  was  turned 
into  the  theological  hierarchial  Church  of  post- Apostolic 
times.  But  it  is  a  weakness  in  his  treatment  of  the  origin 
of  Christianity,  that  for  him  the  presence  of  the  miraculous 
in  any  early  writing  makes  its  historicity  very  doubtful. 
"Every  single  miracle  is  for  the  historian  completely  a  mat- 
ter of  doubt,  and  a  summation  of  what  is  doubtful  can 
never  lead  historically  to  certainty."  Belief  in  the  mira- 
cles, he  adds,  is  a  matter  of  moral-religious  impression, 
which  may  lead  a  man  to  feel  that  J6sus  Christ  possessed 
supernatural  powers;  but  such  belief  belongs  to  the  depart- 
ment of  religious  faith,  not  to  that  of  historic  research. 
Paul  agrees  with  all  this,  and  quotes  approvingly  the  words, 
*'A  stronger  religious  faith  in  the  predominence  and  con- 
trol of  the  Good  in  the  world  can  be  supposed,  which  does 
not  need  to  infer  the  supernatural  character  of  Christ  from 
miracles,"  and  then  acjds  himself,  "It  would  certainly  be  a 
strange  thing  if  a  view  of  the  world,  which  rests  on  historic 
knowledge,  should  necessarily  have  'irreligiosity'  as  a  con- 


ORIGIN    OF    CHRISTIANITW  *  139 

sequence,  or  that  piety  could  be  present  only  where  there 
was  historic  ignorance."  The  weak  point  in  all  this  argu- 
mentation is  the  assumption  that  no  amount  of  evidence 
can  prove  a  miracle  and  make  it  a  vital  part  and  factor  in 
sacred  history.  Schleiermacher  held  that  we  cannot  escape 
from  two  miracles,  the  creation  of  the  world  and  the  person 
of  Christ.  The  historic  Christ  was  a  miraculous  Christ, 
and  this  miraculous  Christ,  his  death  and  resurrection, 
form  the  foundation  of  the  history  of  the  Church ;  hence  to 
rule  the  supernatural  out  of  the  origin  of  Christianity 
leaves  it  "the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision,"  and  gives  us  a 
Church  History  whose  beginning  is  inexplicable.  How  ridic- 
ulous and  psychologically  absurd  a  "history  of  the  Origins 
of  Christianity"  appears,  leaving  out  the  miraculous,  can 
be  seen  in  the  brilliant  work  of  Renan.^  He  says  that  the 
ecstatic  love  of  Mary  Magdalene  produced  the  vision  of  the 
risen  Christ,  and  "the  image  created  by  her  delicate  sensi- 
bihty  hovers  over  the  world  still."  "Next  to  Jesus,  it  is 
Mary,  who  has  done  the  most  for  the  establishment  of 
Christianity."  Jesus  is  still  dead;  it  was  all  a  fancy  of  the 
frenzied  heart  of  Mary!  The  miracle  of  Pentecost  was 
simply  the  result  of  a  meeting  like  that  of  the  "Quakers, 
Jumpers,  Shakers,  Irvingites,"  but  on  this  day  a  violent 
thunder  storm  and  lightning  completed  the  miracle.  Paul 
had  a  fit  on  the  way  to  Damascus,  and  remorse  for  what 
he  was  about  to  do  against  the  Christians,  with  an  accom- 
panying thunderstorm,    blinded   him  and  made  him  have 


^Book  II,  The  Apostles;  Book  III,  St.  Paul;  B.  IV,  The  Antichrist; 
B.  Y,  The  Gospels;  Book  VI,  The  Chr.  Church;  Book  VII,  Marcus 
Aurelius,  English  Translation.  London.  Mathieson  &  Co.  1888-89 
2sh.  6cl.  each. 


140  •        HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  vision  of  Jesus !  ''The  Christ  who  personally  revealed 
himself  to  him  is  his  own  ghost;  he  listens  to  himself, 
thinking  that  he  hears  Jesus."  Eenan  thinks  Paul  did  not 
hesitate  to  declare  he  had  knowledge  of  Christ  by  personal 
revelation,  when  he  really  got  his  information  from  those 
who  were  personal  followers  of  Jesus.  To  such  positions 
is  the  historian  driven  in  ignoring  all  that  is  supernatural 
in  the  origin  of  Christianity.  Christianity  arose  from 
dreams  and  visions  and  pious  frauds  !  When  Eenan,  how- 
ever, comes  to  deal  with  the  human  side  of  Church  history 
he  is  most  instructive  and  brilliant ;  and  no  advanced  stu- 
dent of  the  ^'Origins  of  Christianity"  should  fail  to  read  his 
stimulating  pages. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  EARLY  CHURCH. 
I.       SPREAD    OF    CHRISTIANITY. 

One  of  the  most  obscure  sections  of  early  Church  history 
is  that  which  deals  with  the  conversion  of  Asia  Minor, 
hence  the  information  that  Ramsay  has  gathered  from 
"Early  Christian  monuments  in  Phrygia"'  is  most  welcome. 
We  learn  from  his  study  of  inscriptions  that  the  people  of 
Phiygia,  the  home  of  Montanism  and  similar  movements, 
were  only  learning  to  speak  Greek  under  the  Roman  Em- 
pire. That  language  was  coming  into  use  here,  in  country 
places,  between  A.  D.  100  and  200,  and  did  not  prevail  in 
the  remoter  regions  of  Phrygia  till  A.  D.  200-300.  It  seems 
as  if  it  was  the  Christian  religion  that  spread  the  use  of 
Greek.  The  Bible  being  in  that  language  was  one  reason 
for  this.  About  A.  D.  200,  the  rural  population  was  al- 
most wholly  uneducated,  knowing  only  the  Phrygian  lan- 
guage and  unaffected  by  Graeco-Roman  culture,  which  had 
entered  the  cities.  Christianity  spread  first  in  these  cities, 
and  reached  the  country  places,  during  the  third  century. 
It  at  once  produced  a  desire  for  education.  The  people 
must  learn  Greek  to  read  the  Bible  or  to  become  really  cul- 
tured. Thus  with  the  gospel  a  spirit  of  progress  appeared, 
which  gradually  extirpated  the  native  dialects,  and  started 

'  The  Expositor.     Oct.  and  Dec,  1888;  Feb..  April  and  May,  188U. 


142  IIISTOJilCAL    THEOLOGY. 

a  tendency  just  the  opposite  of  that  in  the  West,  where  the 
Scriptures  were  translated  into  Latin  and  Gothic.  Two 
groups  of  incriptions  are  found,  pointing  to  two  sources  of 
Christian  activity  in  Phr3'gia,  one  in  the  North-West,  the 
other  in  the  South.  In  the  first  region,  many  Christian 
inscriptions  are  found  in  the  country  and  very  few  in  cities; 
the  reason,  Eamsaj^  thinks,  is  the  presence  of  Eoman  offi- 
cials in  the  towns  and  the  worship  of  the  Emperors  there, 
both  of  wliich  were  not  in  rural  places.  Besides  this,  the 
heathen  neighbors  were  stronger  and  more  dangerous  in 
the  cities  of  Northwestern  Phrygia,  while  the  Christians 
were  relatively  stronger  in  the  country  places  of  this  region. 
The  inscriptions  of  Central  and  South  Plnygia,  however, 
show  just  the  opposite  condition ;  here  the  Christians  are 
numerous  in  the  cities  and  few  in  the  country.  We  find 
leading  citizens  and  senators  in  tiie  church,  heiice  it  is  in- 
ferred that  Christianity  was  the  leading  religion  in  several 
cities  here  like  Eumeneia.  In  South  Phrygia  alone  is  there 
a  probability  that  the  story  of  Eusebius,  that  a  whole  Phry- 
gian town  was  Christian  in  the  days  of  Diocletian,  could 
be  approximately  true.  A  number  of  these  inscriptions, 
of  the  early  part  of  the  third  century,  spell  the  name  Christ- 
ian chreistian,  as  if  the  name  and  the  new  religion  were  not 
yet  quite  consolidated  here.  Two  inscriptions  have  the 
spelling  "Chrestians  to  a  Chrestian,"  which  is  interesting 
in  view  of  the  well  known  statement  of  Suetonius,  that 
Claudius  banished  the  Jews  from  Eome  for  rebellion  at 
the  instigation  of  "Chrestus."  Doubtless  Christ  is  meant 
in  all  these  ■  cases,  but  the  Greek  word  Chrestos,  meaning 
''good,"  would  occur  much  more  readily  to  educated  Greeks 
and  Eomans  than  the   almost  unknown   word  'Christos." 


THE    EAULY    (' III' lie II.  143 

This  spelling  "is  therefore  a  pre-Constantine  error."  The 
Christians  used  the  usual  tomh-stones  as  prepared  for  sale 
by  the  heathen  stone-cutters,  to  avoid  observation,  filling 
in  the  inscription  to  suit  themselves.  The  threat,  found 
often  on  pagan  tombs,  the  Christians  also  u^ed,  with  some- 
what dift'erent  reference.  "Thou  shalt  not  wrong  God," 
that  is,  by  violating  this  tomb.  One  Christian  inscription, 
of  Hierapolis,  is  dated  as  early  as  A.  D.  200,  its  slight  and 
peculiar  deviation  from  pagan  epitaphs  showing  the  great 
caution  used  by  Christians.  Eamsay  continues,  "In  general 
one  is  struck  with  the  fact  that  wherever  there  is  a  touch 
of  natural  feeling,  of  real  life,  of  kindly  sentiment,  the  epi- 
taph is  almost  always  Christian."  The  character  of  the 
Christianity  in  north  Phrygia  was  different  from  that  of  the 
south.  Bithynia,  north  of  Phrygia,  was  full  of  Christians 
earl}^  id  the  second  century,  and  the  gospel  would  natu- 
rally pass  thence  into  north  Phrygia.  And  this  was  what 
did  happen.  An  old  tradition  says  Paul  and  Silas  planted 
Christianity  in  Bithynia  on  their  way  to  Troas.  The  gos- 
pel came  into  south  Phrygia  from  the  valley  in  which  lie 
the  towns  of  Laodicea,  Colossae  and  Hierapolis,  that  is 
from  the  Pauline  churches.  These  two  currents  of  Christ- 
ian activit}^  the  one  from  the  north,  having  its  source 
among  the  rural  population,  and  that  from  the  south, 
springing  from  those  dwelling  in  cities,  seem  to  have  met 
in  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  and  gave  rise  to  some 
of  the  strange  movements  that  were  peculiar  to  this  part  of 
the  Church.  Montanus  was  from  the  northern  churches  ; 
hence,  Piamsay  thinks,  "the  beginning  of  the  Montanist 
controversy  corresponds  to  the  time  when  the  Christianizing 
nfluence  spreading  from    the    Northwest   met  that  which 


144  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

was  penetrating  from  the  Southwest ; "  the  one  was  primi- 
tive and  Montanistic,  the  other  was  more  influenced  by  cur- 
rent thought  and  CathoHc.^  The  orthodox  country  churches 
of  Phrygia  held  to  early  Millenarian  views,  kept  them- 
selves apart  from  the  world,  expected  the  destruction  of  the 
Eoman  Empire,  and  by  strict  discipline  sought  to  hasten 
the  coming  of  the  Lord ;  but  the  city  churches  came  in 
contact  with  Roman  and  Greek  society,  saw  that  the  Church 
was  to  make  its  home  on  earth  for  a  long  time,  and  had  to 
accept  the  prospect  of  converting  the  Roman  Empire  with 
all  its  culture  to  Christianity.  This  Puritanic  movement 
of  the  country  churches,  when  it  spread  through  the  Em- 
pire as  Montanism,  was  crushed  by  the  strong  city  churches 
led  by  their  bishops.  But  the  ascetic  ideal  here  empha- 
sized could  not  be  buried ;  it  reappeared  in  the  Catholic 
Church  as  Monasticism,  and  the  double  standard  of 
Christian  life,  monastic  and  secular,  that  has  wrought 
such  evil  in  the  Catholic  Church  through  the  ages,  may  be 
regarded  as  an  outgrowth  of  the  early  conflict  between  the 
city  and  country  churches  of  Phrygia,  of  which  we  now 
hear  for  the  first  time. 

Next  to  Antioch,  early  tradition  speaks  of  Edessa  as  a 
great  Christian  center  in  Asia  Minor.  Tixeront,  however, 
follows  Lipsius  and  others  in  holding  that  the  gospel  did 
not  reach  Edessa  before  x\.  D.  170,  when  the  first  mission- 
aries had  a  Syriac  translation  of  the  Gospels  ready  to  put 
into  the  hands   .of  their  converts. ^     Martin  combats  this 


^Cf.     also    Eamsay's    Article    Antiquities   of  South  Phrygia  and 
Border  Lands,  in  The  American  Journal  of  Archeology,  1887-88. 
-Les  Origines  de  VEjlise  d'EIesfie.     Paris.     1888. 


THE  EARLY    ClIURCJl.  Uo 

view,^  and  maintains  that  Christianity  did  not  spread  sim- 
pl}'  naturally,  as  every  other  belief ;  he  argues  that  it  was 
planted  in  Syria  by  Apostolic  men,  in  the  first  century. 
Paul's  missionary  activity  in  the  West  was  not  exceptional ; 
the  other  apostles  were  ecpially  active  in  the  East  and  in 
more  barbarous  lands.  At  Pentecost  there  were  converts 
from  the  Parthians,  Medes,  Elamites  and  Mesopotami- 
ans ;  hence  he  infers  the  gospel  must  have  gone  thither 
very  early,  and  was  doubtless  followed  very  soon  by  iVpos- 
tolic  missionaries.  Edessa  was  the  ''daughter  of  the  Par- 
thians." It  was  on  the  caravan  route  from  Antioch  and 
must  have  early  heard  of  Christianity.  Hence,  Martin 
says,  it  is  highly  probable  that  organized  churches  appeared 
here  in  the  first  century  according  to  the  "ancient,  unani- 
mous, universal  and  constant"  tradition.  The  fact  that 
the  church  of  Edessa  has  always  claimed  Thomas  as  its 
founder,  though  it  has  also  always  known  that  he  was  later 
the  Apostle  of  India  and  died  there,  and  the  further  fact 
that  his  body  was  brought  to  Edessa  A.  D.  232,  as  found- 
er of  the  church,  when  the  city  was  largely  Christian, 
point  towards  the  early  preaching  of  the  gospel  here  and 
Thomas  as  cue  of  the  missionaries. 

From  Antioch  through  Edessa  Christianity  spread  into 
Mesopotamia  and  Assyria,  passing  along  the  route  of 
Jewish  emigration  to  the  conquest  of  the  East.  A  recent 
French  writer  finds  the  Jews  taking  the  same  place  of 
forernnners  of  Christ  in  the  West  also.^     The  Pioman  Em- 


'L?8    Origines  de    V  Ejlise  d'  tJ Jesse  et  def   Ejlises     Syriennes. 
Paris.     1889. 

"Cirot  de  la   Ville,  L' Empire  Romain  et  le   Christianisme  dans  les 
Guides.     Poictiers:     Oiicliu.  1888.     Uncritical. 


146  IIISTOBICAL    THEOLOGY. 

pire  unwittingly  helped  the  spread  of  the  gospel  in  Gaul 
by  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews,  as  well  as  by  the  building 
of  roads  and  the  movement  of  the  legions.  He  traces  the 
presence  of  Jews  in  Germany,  Spain  and  France  before  the 
time  of  Christ.  They  traveled  as  favorite  secret  agents  of 
the  Roman  government,  as  coliecters  of  revenue,  as  mer- 
chants, selling  their  wares.  Together  with  Greeks  and 
Syrians,  the  Jews  went  through  Gaul,  but,  unlike  all 
others,  the  Jews  labored  zealously  to  make  proselytes  to 
the  worship  of  Jehovah.  They  bad  synagogues  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  Gaul,  w^hicli  doubtless,  as  in  the  East, 
opened  up  the  way  for  the  reception  of  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah. 

II.       CHURCH    AND    WORLD. 

The  sharpest  point  of  contact  between  Church  and 
World  in  the  first  century  was  the  persecution  under  Nero. 
Since  the  time  of  Gibbon,  not  a  few  critics  have  regarded 
this  tragedy  as  the  result  of  mere  Jewish  hatred,  ana  in 
support  of  such  a  position  have  taken  the  statements  of 
Tacitus  either  as  spurious  or  as  interpolated.  But  Arnold 
shows  all  this  to  be  groundless  and  reaches  the  following 
conclusions  :^ 

1.  The  sources  in  Tacitus  (xv,  44)  are  genuine.  2.  The 
Christians  were  punished  because  of  the  circumstances  in 
which  Nero  was  placed,  and  not  because  of  their  religion. 
3.  The  religious  confession  did  not  even  offer  a  pretext  to 
Nero,  but  he  used  the  unpopularity  of  Christians,  wdiich 


^Dle  Neronische    Christenvp.rfolgu/'g.     Leipzig.     F.  Kichter.  1888. 
M.  4. 


THE  earTjY  ciirncif.  ui 

nrose  because  of  the  charges  against  them  of  immorality 
and  hick  of  patriotism.  These  accusations  were  partly  of 
Jewish  origin.  4.  Not  Jews,  but  Christian  heretics  seem 
to  have  informed  the  Eoman  police  in  this  persecution. 
Arnold  seems  to  give  little  proof  of  this  statement.  5. 
The  number  of  Christian  nlartyrs  appears  to  be  rhetorically 
exaggerated  by  Tacitus;  but  though  the  number  was  not 
great  this  persecution  was  never  forgotten,  tirst  because  it 
was  connected  with  the  burning  of  Eome,  further  because 
it  was  extraordinary  and  took  Neronic  forms,  and  finally 
because  now  for  the  first  time  the  Roman  authorities  pro- 
ceeded against  Christians.  All  this  was  remembered  by 
both  Christian  and  heathen  in  the  light  of  later  persecu- 
tions. 6.  The  persecuted  Christians  had  no  connection 
with  the  Jewish  population  ;  they  were,  in  A.  T).  64,  chiefly 
Greeks  and  Hellenists,  and  clearly  distinct  in  their  modes 
of  life  from  the  Jews.  7.  The  persecution  did  not  extend 
beyond  Rome  itself,  as  Nero's  purpose  did  not  require  fur- 
ther persecution.  8.  For  these  reasons  this  persecution 
did  not  make  the  impression  of  "an  epoch-making  event" 
in  Christian  circles.  9.  The  Christian  tradition  of  this 
persecution  was  perverted,  since  about  A.D.  150,  through 
apologetic  motives,  to  make  the  good  Emperors  friendly 
and  the  bad  Emperors  hostile  to  sound  doctrine ;  hence, 
Nero  came  to  be  regarded  as  an  enemy  on  principle  of  re- 
vealed truth,  and  all  sense  of  the  historic  situation  was 
lost.  10.  The  Apocalypse  did  not  arise  through  the  Ne- 
ronic persecution.  There  is  no  connection  between  the 
sufferings  there  described  and  the  expectation  of  Nero's  re- 
turn: least  of  all  is  such  expectation  to  be  traced  to  a 
Christian  source,  but  rather  to  a  heathen  origin,  from  which 


148  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

it  passed  to  the  Jewish  SibyUine  books,  thence  into  Christian 
heretical  writings,  and  finally  into  Church  circles. 

The  importance  of  a  knowledge  of  heathen  thought  and 
culture  for  a  true  estimate  of  early  Christianity  is  recog- 
nized much  more  now  than  was  the  case  even  a  few  years 
ago.  Instead  of  a  scrappy  description  of  the  Eoman  Em- 
pire when  Christ  appeared,  followed  by  some  remarks  on 
Greek  thought  in  treating  Gnosticism,  progressive  Church 
historians  see  the  necessity  of  tracing  the  parallel  move- 
ments of  classic  civilizations  as  part  of  the  real  current  of 
the  Church's  visible  life.  Moeller,  following  this  course, 
has  two  chapters  on  "Heathen  Eeligiosit}'  and  Culture  in 
their  relation  to  Christianity,"  first  in  the  time  when,  the 
early  Catholic  Church  w^as  consolidating  (to  A.  D.  150), 
and  then  in  the  period  between  its  consolidation  and  Con- 
stantine.^  Inge^  shows  how  religion  in  Eome,  losing  its  pa- 
triotic element  under  the  Empire,  lived  on  through  the  first 
century  as  superstition,  till  an  inevitable  reaction  arose  "in 
favor  of  positive  and  emotional  religion"  Eastern  mystic 
cults  led  in  this  reaction,  taking  root  first  among  the  lower 
classes,  then  extending  to  the  rich  and  powerful.  The  su- 
perstition of  the  masses  and  the  Agnosticism  of  the  few 
were  now  attracted  towards  monotheism,  whether  Jewish 
or  Christian.  In  matters  of  punishing  criminals,  treat- 
ment of  slaves,  care  of  the  poor,  there  appears  also  a 
growing  humanitarianism,  as  if  anticipating  the  coming 
of  the  gospel. 


^Lehrbuch  tier  Kirchengeschichte.  I  Bd.  Die  ulte  Kirclie.  Freiburg 
i.  B.,  1889. 

'^Society  in  Rome  under  the  Caesars.  New  York:  C.  Scribner's  Sons. 
1888.     $1.25. 


THE    EARLY   (' III' lie  IT.  149 

But  especiall}'  does  Eeville,  who  devotes  a  whole  book  to 
the  subject,  set  forth  the  active  and  vital  relations  })etween 
revived  Paganism  and  growing  Christianity,  in  the  third  cen- 
tury.^ He  points  out  how  Stoicism  died  with  Marcus  Au- 
relius  and  heathen  thought  w^ent  through  a  great  change ; 
it  became  syncretistic ;  it  became  transformed ;  and  such 
transformation  must  be  understood  before  we  can  explain 
the  recognition  of  Christianity  by  Constantine.  He  finds 
a  peculiar  time  of  transition  in  the  first  half  of  the  third 
century,  in  which  the  syncretism  took  in  Graeco-Koman 
and  Oriental  elements,  the  last  and  most  important  of  these 
being  Mithras  w^orship. 

The  most  prominent  mark  of  Koman  society  in  this 
period  was  its  cosmopolitanism ;  in  it  all  nations  were 
blended,  but  the  social  system  had  not  now  sufficient  vital- 
ity to  assimilate  these  elements,  and  was  flooded  by  them. 
Hence  the  policy  of  the  government  was  force  and  the 
strong  hand  of  Septimius  Severus  ruled.  And  yet  this  was 
the  golden  age  of  Eoman  jurisprudence.  In  this  half  cen- 
tury great  doctors  of  the  law,  such  as  Paul,  Papinian  and 
Ulpian,  took  the.  place  of  senators  and  transformed  Koman 
law^s  into  a  code  for  all  men.  Pioman  traditions  w'ere  now 
weak  and  the  central  power  was  strong ;  hence  Caracalla 
could  declare  all  free  men  in  the  Empire  Koman  citizens, 
and  laws  be  made  for  such  wide  relations.  Kome  and  the 
world  were  now  regarded  as  the  same;  so  human  and 
natural  rights,  not  traditional  usages,  were  made  the 
basis  of  legislation.     The  liberties  of  slaves,  freedmen  and 


'^Die  Religion  zu  Rom  unter  den  Severern.  German  from  the 
Frencli.  Leipzig:  Hin rich s.  1888.  M.  6.  Cf.  Current  Discussions, 
Vol.  lY,  1887,  p.  127 


150  HISTORICAL    TH:^0L0GY. 

clubs  of  all  sorts  were  greatly  extended.  In  this  period, 
too,  religious  questions  held  the  uppermost  place  in  men's 
thoughts.  The  self-satisfied  skepticism  of  the  last  days  of 
the  Eepublic  was  gone ;  so  was  the  cautious  skepticism 
which  had  lingered  in  polite  society  till  the  middle  of 
the  second  century.  "The  superficial  Voltairism  of  Lu- 
cian  had  vanished,"  and  "from  Cicero  to  Marcus  Aurelius 
Eoman  society  had  advanced  from  unbelief  to  faith."  In 
the  third  century,  all  men  were  believers  in  religion.  Eo- 
man society  had  everywhere  lost  its  taste  for  what  had 
previously  satisfied  it,  and  sought  a  new  source  of  peace, 
in  the  gods.  All  forms  of  idolatry  had  again  become  cur- 
rent in  the  Empire  and  influenced  one  another ;  hence  a 
a  general  feeling  spread  that  there  was  essential  unit}^  in 
God  and  in  religion,  which  found  expression  through  differ- 
ent deities  and  cults.  Such  religious  syncretism  is  the 
naturally  produced  religion  of  such  a  cosmopolitan  society 
as  occupied  the  Empire  in  the  third  century,  a  society 
without  interest  in  patriotism  or  politics,  ruled  by  a  despot, 
without  literary  inspiration,  without  fixed  philosophic 
ideas,  yet  educated,  over-refined,  and  longing  for  an  ideal 
higher  than  that  wiiich  had  been  given  by  tradition. 

In  this  syncretism,  as  already  observed,  the  most  im- 
portant factor  was  the  Mithras  worship,  which  was  intro- 
duced last.  The  East  sent  three  great  religioiis  into  Eoman 
society,  Judaism,  Christianity  and  the  service  of  Mithras ; 
so  Eeville  classes  them.  In  the  first  half  of  the  third 
century,  Judaism  was  widest  spread;  Christianity  was  mak- 
ing rapid  progress ;  but  both  of  these,  being  irreconcilably 
hostile  to  heathenism,  kept  out  of  the  current  of  syncre- 
tism, which  swallowed  up   all  others.     The  worship  of  Mi- 


THE   EARLY   CIIURCII.  151 

tliras,  however,  though  superior  to  other  oriental  religions, 
as  Judaism  and  Christianity  were,  blended  with  heathen- 
ism, and  so  took  a  commanding  position  in  this  pagan  syn- 
cretism. In  the  time  of  Aurelian  and  Diocletian,  this 
Phrygian  Mithras  became  the  God  of  the  Empire.  His 
worship  spread,  in  the  third  century,  as  fast  as  did  Christ- 
ianity, and  for  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if  Mithras  would  con- 
quer Christ.  Eenan  says,  ''If  Christianity  had  been  checked 
in  its  growth  by  any  deadly  disease  the  world  would 
have  belonged  to  Mithras."  In  this  revival  of  pagan  faith 
the  attractions  of  bloody  worship,  the  offeiings  of  bulls, 
held  a  very  prominent  place.  Hitherto  this  attraction  has 
been  ascribed  to  the  Mithras  service,  but  Lebegue  main- 
tains that  these  ''tauroboles"  were  made  to  Cybele,  and  it 
was  this  deity,  not  Mithras,  that  led  the  Pagan  Eenais- 
sance.^  Cybele  worship,  not  Mithras  worship,  was  the 
great  rival,  he  thinks,  of  growing  Christianity,  for  this  cult 
taught  a  lively  .pantheism,  while  that  of  Mithras  tended 
towards  a  spiritualism,  which  did  not  rouse  popular  enthu- 
siasm. Keturning  to  Keville,  we  learn  that  in  this  syncre- 
tism heathenism  reached  a  height  before  unattained.  A 
longing  now  appeared  for  moral  improvement,  for  perfec- 
tion, a  movement  as  never  before  towards  the  union  of  re- 
ligion and  morals  in  mutual  support.  With  such  views, 
and  seeing  the  departure  of  national  lines  in  the  Empire, 
earnest  men  gathered  into  societies.  ''There  was  no  Church 
as  yet,  but  there  were  churches,"  and  in  all  such  heathen 
clubs  syncretistic  tolerance  prevailed,  socially,  intellectu- 
ally, religiously.     Everywhere,  too,  as  we  have  seen,  moral 


'Cf.     Revue  Riatorique,  July,  Aug.     1888. 


1V2  IITSTOIUCAL    THEOLOGY. 

and  religious  questions  were  in  the  fore-ground.  The  great 
evil  of  this  syncretism  was  its  lack  of  "simplicity,  natural- 
ness, I  might  almost  say,  youth."  It  was  mystical,  fanci- 
ful, and  could  not  deal  practically  with  human  life.  Hence 
all  its  efforts  dii'ectly  aided  Christianity  in  the  end,  for  it 
could  found  no  permanent  religion  itself.  Upon  this  syn- 
cretistic  basis  Eeville  finds  three  great  attempts  made  at 
religious  reformation:  first  the  Neo-Pythagorean,  at  the 
court  of  Septimius  Severus,  led  by  the  empress,  Julia 
Domna  and  her  philosophic  friend,  Philostratus ;  next  the 
Oriental  Reformation,  in  which  Heliogabalus  set  up  Baal 
as  the  supreme  god  of  Rome ;  then  the  Eclectic  Reforma- 
tion, the  worship  of  Holy  Men,  under  Alexander  Severus. 
The  outcome  of  this  whole  syncretistic  movement  Reville 
finds  to  be  a  San -Monotheism,  the  worship  of  the  sun  as 
the  one  supreme  object  of  life  and  light.  Heathenism  had 
become  transformed  ;  the  very  idea  of  religion  had  changed. 
It  was  now  presented  as  an  ideal  of  the  heroic,  the  pure, 
involving  a  regeneration,  redemption  by  a  new  heart,  be- 
ginning on  earth  but  continuing  in  immortality,  demand- 
ing a  universal  brotherhood  of  all  classes  of  men,  and 
preaching  growth  unto  perfection  and  living  communion 
with  the  gods.  This  sjmcretism  could  not  save  heathen- 
ism, but  it  formed  a  middle  step,  through  which  the  Em- 
pire passed  under  Christianity. 

Recent  excavations  in  Rome  show  how  bitter  was 
the  final  struggle  between  Paganism  and  the  rH?w  religion, 
in  the  fourth    century.^      The  most   absurd  superstitions 


^Cf.  Lanciaui.  Ancient  Rome  in  the  Light  of  Recent  Discoveries. 
Boston:  Houghton.  Mifflin  &  Co.  1888.  $6.00.  Popular  and  inter- 
esting. 


THE    EARLY   CHUECIL  153 

were  revived,  especially  those  "which  bore  a  certain 
analogy  with  the  ceremonies  of  the  Christian  worship," 
in  order  to  oppose  Christianity.  We  hear  of  heathen 
leaders,  as  senators,  who  were  initiated  into  Eastern 
Mysteries  to  fight  the  Eastern  Christianity.  They  met 
for  secret  conference  in  the  shrine  of  Cybele  on  the  Vati- 
can hill,  and  in  the  grotto  of  Mithras  in  the  Campus 
Martins.  It  is  humiliating  to  hear  these  men  call 
themselves  "fathers  of  Mysteries,"  "sacred  crow  of  the  in- 
vincible Mithrae,"  "great  shepherd  of  Bacchus."  They 
echo  Christian  thoughts,  in  calling  their  gods  "keepers  of 
the  soul  and  the  mind,"  in  describing  their  baptism  in 
blood  as  being  "born  again  forever,"  and  in  all  rejoicing 
in  the  baptism  in  the  blood  of  a  bull  or  a  goat,  which  some 
renewed  after  twenty  years.  Two  senators  presided  in  a 
Mithras  lodge,  between  A.  D.  357  and  377  and  adminis- 
tered right  and  left  the  six  degrees  of  the  crow,  the  griffin, 
the  lion,  the  Persian,  the  Heliodromos,  and  the  Father. 

What  changes  Christianity  brought  into  Rome  for  its 
good  appear  even  in  sanitary  matters.  Lanciani  found 
one  spot  where  24,000  bodies  had  been  cast  into  an  open 
ditch  and  left  to  fester  in  the  sun.  Corpses  of  the  poor, 
slaves,  &c.,  were  thrown  into  such  places  with  common 
garbage.  The  sick  were  also  neglected.  "The  hospital, 
even  in  its  most  rudimentary  shape,  was  not  known  in 
Piome  much  before  the  third  century  of  the  Christian  era," 
Medicine  was  little  understood ;  the  gods  were  the  physi- 
cians;  "charity  was  a  virtue  altogether  unknown  in  ancient 
times ;"  and  wars,  slavery  and  gladiatorial  shows  made  the 
most  tender  Pioman  hearts  insensible  to  human  sufferings. 
Such   impartial   descriptions    of   the   life    of   the    ancient 


154  HISTORICAL    THEOLOOY. 

heathen  world  should  ever  be  kept  in  mind  when  listening 
to  other  accounts,  which,  in  the  name  of  liberal  Christ- 
tianity,  speak  of  the  Church  in  her  progress  assimilating 
from  Jewish  and  Gentile  sources  whatever  was  good  and 
true  in  any  religion.^  What  good  or  true  doctrine  or  usage 
has  Christianity  learned  from  other  religions,  that  was  not 
already  taught  in  its  own  Scriptures  ? 

III.       HISTORY    OF    DOCTRINE. 

The  history  of  the  Church  is  the  story  of  a  Divine  King- 
dom on  earth,  and  the  hand  of  God  must  be  traced  behind 
the  movements  of  men  in  its  course.  This  fact  is  too  often 
overlooked.  Schneider^  says  that  modern  authors  ''like 
Harnack,  Stade,  Bleek  and  Wellhausen,"  write  as  if  they 
presupposed  ''not  the  Christianity,  but  a  Christianity." 
They  tell  how  the  Scriptures  must  have  arisen  "if  I — 
Stade,  Wellhausen — had  composed  them;  how  the  Church 
of  God,  Christianity,  must  have  begun,  if  I — Harnack 
— had  been  its  founder-"  Each  describes  the  Divine,  or 
wishes  to  do  so,  not  as  it  appeared  historically,  but 
as  the  respective  author  presents  it  to  himself.  The  prin- 
ciple for  the  right  handling  of  Christian  truths  and  history 
is  wanting.  Mere  reason  cannot  deal  with  sin  and  its 
passions,  in  historic  treatment,  he  holds,  any  more  than  it 
can  deal  v/ith  them  in  the  single  human  heart ;  for  the 


^Cf.  stone.  Readings  in  Church  History.  Philadelphia.  Porter 
&  Coates.    1889.    $1.50.     A  popular,  uncritical  work. 

^Das  Apostolische  Jahrhundert  als  Grundlage  der  Dogmengeschichte. 
Kegensburg.  C.  J.  Manz.  1889.  A  Koman  Catholic  work,  based  on 
the  writings  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  which  the  author  holds 
to  be  genuine. 


THE    EARLY    CIU'RCII.  155 

struggle  here  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  upon  a  merely  natural 
ground.  Every  historian  writes  the  history  which  grows 
in  himself  as  he  studies ;  but  Christian  history  has  spirit- 
ual elements,  which  do  not  grow  up  in  the  mere  reason  of 
man,  and  cannot  be  reproduced  by  such  reason,  Jiowever 
well  informed.  Life  in  God  alone  qualifies  for  such  work. 
The  supernatural,  as  foundation,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and 
the  essential  character  of  the  Scriptures,  as  accepted  reali- 
ties, are  necessary  to  any  true  work  on  Christian  history. 
This  Catholic  w^riter  lays  great  stress  upon  the  position 
that  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  have  been  developed 
only  in  so  far  as  we  set  forth  more  clearly  what  Christ  and 
the  Apostles  fully  taught  once  for  all.  Dogmas  may  be 
multiplied,  but  there  is  no  increase  in  Kevelation  or  The- 
ology. *'The  cause  for  the  development  in  dogmas  is  ever 
the  weakness  of  the  human  mind."  Most  conservative 
scholars  will  agree  with  the  main  positions  of  Schneider, 
for  if  the  legitimate  development  of  doctrine  take  in 
elements  from  outside  the  Bible,  they  must  come  from 
Church  tradition,  the  voices  of  nature,  conclusions  of 
reason,  or  the  Christian  consciousness,  all  of  which  have 
l)orne  testimony  to  very  conflicting  views. 

Allen,  a  Unitarian,  expresses  similar  thoughts  about 
the  study  of  early  Christian  thought.^  We  must  not  look 
at  early  opinions  scientifically  alone,  he  says ;  that  is 
dangerous.  Above  all  we  should  regard  them  religiously, 
sympathetically,  for  '<even  the  polemic  temper  is  not  so 
far  away  from  those  as  the  non-religiour  or  agnostic."  He 
finds  the  limits  of  ancient  theology  in  the  middle  of  the  first 
century  when  Paul  ''set  about  the  task  of  interpreting  the 

^The  Unitarian  Review,  1889. 


156  IIISTORlrAL    THEOLOGY. 

Messianic  office  of  Jesus,  and  a  little  past  the  middle  of 
the  fifth  when  Pope  Leo  laid  the  foundations  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical structure  that  was  to  be."  In  this  period  Allen  sees 
first  two  groups  of  thinkers,  the  Sabellian,  in  the  third,  and 
the  Arian,  in  the  fourth  century,  prominent,  the  first  to 
deal  with  the  nature  and  office  of  Christ,  that  are  likely  to 
have  any  definite  meaning  to  modern  ears.  The  two  cen- 
turies before  Sabellius  he  finds  cut  across  by  the  attempt 
of  Justin  to  give  perhaps  the  first  formal  statement  of  the 
Logos  doctrine  as  a  cardinal  point  of  the  Christian  theol- 
ogy. The  Messianic  hope  died  out  when  the  Jews  were 
crushed  under  Bar  Cochba,  A.  D.  135,  and  Christianity 
now  took  its  second  great  step  forward  to  become  a  new 
and  independent  force  in  the  world  of  thought.  "The  doc- 
trine of  the  Logos  came  in .  .  .  .  to  fill  the  void  left  by  the 
perishing  of  the  Messianic  hope."  Paul's  doctrine  ot  the 
Spirit  w^as  the  first  step ;  Justin's  doctrine  of  the  Word 
was  the  second.  Here,  Allen  thinks,  is  the  germ  of  the 
theology  of  the  next  three  centuries.  The  early  Church 
believed  in  the  divine  life  in  Jesus,  just  as  we  feel  we  are 
sharers  of  such  a  life,  and  "call  that  prompting  voice  the 
Word  of  God."  The  question  then  was,  how  to  state  theo- 
logically this  rfligious  faith.  Allen  thinks  that  the  "viv- 
idly imaginative  "  theology  of  those  days  turned  this  inner 
Word  into  a  person,  gave  it  objective  existence,  and  made 
it  incarnate  in  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God.  He  finds  the 
germ  of  the  Christian  trinity  in  the  words  of  Athanagoras, 
"The  Mind  and  Keason  of  the  Father  is  the  Son  of  God." 
This  Eeason  personified  gave  Christ.  The  next  easy  step 
was  to  think  this  Divine  Logos  took  the  place  of  the  hu- 
man soul  in  Jesus  and  made  him  Son  of  God.    .Such  a 


THE    EARLY   CHURCH .  157 

conception,  it  is  added,  is  impossible  to  us,  but  to  the  early 
Christians  it  was  easy  and  natural.  Their  Realism  made 
all  things  possible.  The  movement  of  thought  through 
the  third,  fourth  and  iifth  centuries  was  from  mysticism  of 
the  eternal  Logos  to  rationalism  of  the  more  human  Christ, 
till  at  Chalcedon  a  point  of  rest  was  found,  by  authority, 
that  held  good.  Allen  admits  that  the  outcome  of  the  long 
struggle  was  the  great  thought  "God  with  Man,"  which 
has  led  Christianity  victoriously  until  tins  day.  To  get 
time  for  the  manufacture  of  the  Logos  as  a  divine  attri- 
bute into  a  Son  of  God  subjective,  then  objective,  then 
incarnate  in  Jesus,  then  a  Divine  Deliverer,  Allen  puts 
the  origin  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  about  the  middle  of  the 
second  century. 

Purves  takes  more  conservative  ground  on  these  ques- 
tions.^ He  finds  the  literary  fact  that  the  New  Testament 
appears  here  as  the  work  of  masters,  and  the  post-apos- 
tolic literature  as  that  of  learners,  to  be  a  refutation  of 
those  theories  of  the  origin  of  Christianity  and  the  New 
Testament  ''  which  would  extend  the  period  of  its  forma- 
tion over  at  least  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  second  cen- 
tury." He  holds,  further,  that  the  Logos  doctrine  of  Justin 
could  not  have  produced  the  Fourth  Gospel,  because  the 
circle  of  thought  in  which  Justin  moved  was  full  of  Al- 
exandrian philosophy,  of  which  the  Gospel  of  John  con- 
tains no  element. 

Parves   follows    the   school  of   Pdtschl  in  opposing  the 


^Cf.  Tilt  Influence  of  Paganism  on  Post-Apostolic  Christiauit)j,  in 
'The  Presbyterian  Review,  Oct.  1888;  also  The  Testimony  of  Justin 
Martyr  to  Early  Christianity.  New  York,  Randolph  &  Co.,  1889. 
,^1.75. 


158  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Tubingen  theory  of  the  rise  of  the  early  Church;  but  wisely 
modifies  the  view  of  Harnack,  that  this  Church  took  both 
form  and  substance  in  part  from  Greek  thought,  by  hold- 
ing that  such  philosophic  tendencies  ''produced  division  in 
the  Church,  but  caused  that  portion  which  clung  to  the 
apostolic  teaching  to  realize  more  perfectly  the  unity  and 
significance  of  the  faith,"  though  even  here  the  gospel 
was  often  perverted.  He  finds  Justin's  defense  represent- 
ing "Christianity  as  the  complete  manifestation  of  Eeason, 
accredited  as  such  by  the  fulfilment  of  prophecies"  ;  a  new 
way  of  defending  Christianity,  for  it  is  boldly  claimed  by 
''an  orthodox  Christian  writer  that  his  doctrine  was  the 
superior  on  their  own  ground  of  those  of  the  Academy  and 
the  Porch."  And  yet  this  plea,  we  are  told,  was  one-sided, 
for  Christianity  is  more  than  philosophy :  it  is  an  associa- 
tion of  religious  societies,  belonging  to  a  kingdom  of 
Heaven.  With  all  Justin's  philosophy,  however,  Purves 
holds  "it  possible  to  collect  from  him  other  phrases  and 
ideas  which  imply  the  evangelical  view  of  the  way  of  sal- 
vation"; though  he  also  admits  that  his  "  w^hole  idea  of  the 
way  of  salvation  was  strongly  affected  by  what  we  may 
fairly  term  his  rationalistic  tendency."  It  is  well  urged 
that  besides  the  philosophical  element  in  Justin's  theology 
there  was  a  genuinely  Christian  element,  the  belief  of  the 
Church  handed  down  from  a  previous  age.  His  very  ef- 
fort to  explain  Christian  doctrine  philosophically  testifies 
to  the  previous  existence  of  the  non-philosophical  beliefs 
of  which  he  gives  us  a  sight  as  the  original  faith  of  the 
Church.  And  this  pure  transmitted  doctrine  he  claims  to 
teach,  in  opposition  to  heresy  and  error. 

This  primitive  belief  of  the  Church,  separated  from  the 


THE   EARLY    CIirRClI.  109 

superimposed  philosopb}-  in  Justin's  theology,  Purves  finds 
to  have  faith  in  a  divine-human  Christ  as  its  central  arti- 
cle. He  testifies  to  the  Church's  belief  in  Christ's  divinity ; 
his  own  explanation  of  it  is  another  thing.  *'  The  belief 
occasioned  the  philosophical  efiforts  to  explain  the  mystery ; 
philosophy  did  not  create  the  belief."  The  Church  be- 
lieved then  also  in  the  Trinity,  though  Justin's  ''own 
thought  tended  strongly  away  from  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity."  We  can  trace  also  beneath  his  philosophical 
statements  the  Church  faith  in  "a redemption  wrought  out 
by  the  Son  of  God  through  His  incarnation,  death  and  res- 
urrection." Finally,  he  "testifies  to  the  faith  of  the  post- 
apostolic  churches  concerning  the  spiritual  privileges  and 
future  prospects  of  the  Christian."  Hence  Purves  justly 
rejects  the  Baur  theory,  that  post-apostolic  Christianity 
arose  from  some  kind  of  fusion  of  previously  hostile  Pauline 
and  Jewish  Christian  parties ;  he  rejects  also  the  extreme 
position  of  Harnack,  saying,  "  Neither  was  it  caused,  so 
far  as  its  essential  character  was  concerned,  by  the  union 
of  Pauline  or  apostolic  teaching  w^ith  Hellenic  culture," 
for  the  Hellenic  elements  that  came  in  found  a  Christian- 
ity already  established.  "  On  the  contrary,  the  Christian- 
ity of  Justin  presupposed,  both  positively  and  negatively, 
just  that  foundation  which  is  described  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment." In  the  very  fall  of  post-apostolic  doctrine  below 
the  completeness  of  apostolic  teaching  can  be  seen  rather 
a  fresh  testimony  to  the  supernatural  construction  of  the 
latter.  How  could  the  later  age  create  and  project  into 
the  apostolic  age  ideas,  and  even  records,  which  show  a 
completeness  of  thought  which  the  later  age  itself  did  not 
possess?     All  admit   that  the  clear-cut  Pauline  doctrine  of 


160  IIISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

justification  would  never  have  been  formulated  by  the 
Church  of  the  second  century,  which  very  imperfectly 
apprehended  it. 

We  think  that  Purves  is  right  in  following  the  school  of 
Eitschl  as  far  as  he  does,  though  we  are  inclined  to  admit 
a  greater  influence  to  the  Greek  element  in  Justin's  theol- 
ogy than  he  does.^  The  scattered  statements  of  Justin, 
looking  towards  the  evangelical  plan  of  salvation,  may  re- 
flect rather  a  general  vagueness  of  view  in  the  Church  of 
that  period,  for,  as  English  Protestants  have  long  held, 
post-apostolic  degeneracy  seems  very  early  to  have  thrust 
aside  the  Pauline  teachings  by  a  gospel  of  moralism.  We 
may  even  go  a  step  further  and  doubt  if  Paul's  teachings 
were  clearly  grasped  at  first  by  any  of  the  Centile  churches. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  cannot  say  that  all  the  differ- 
ence between  the  simple  faith  of  the  churches  and  the  the- 
ological creeds  of  Justin  and  his  successors  came  from  phi- 
losophy, or  that  all  that  came  from  Greek  theology  was 
necessarily  false.  Certainly,  there  is  a  Biblical  doctrine  of 
the  Logos  ;  there  is  a  Scriptural  Christology;  there  is  a 
Scriptural  teaching  of  the  Trinity ;  there  are  doctrines  of 
our  faith  which  bear  a  definition  coined  by  philosophy, 
but  the  substance  of  which  comes  from  Eevelation,  and  is 
far  beyond  the  wisdom  of  the  schools  of  Greece.  This 
tendency  to  put  theology  out  of  our  belief  by  ascribing  it 
to  philosophy,  has  been  especially  traced  in  the  Alexan- 
drian teachings,  in  which  a  place  has  been  found  for  every 
vagary.     Origen,  as  is  known,  carried  his  theory  of  free- 


^Cf.  my  article,  Some  Notes  on  Syncretism  in  the  Christian  Theology 
of  the  Second  and  Third  Centuries,  in  Papers  of  the  American  Society 
of  Church  History,  Vol.  I.     New  York,  Putnam's  Sons,  1889. 


THE  EARLY    ('II me II.  161 

will  so  far  as  to  hold,  not  onl}-  that  the  lost  in  a  future 
state  might  exercise  it  and  turn  to  God,  l)ut  that  the  re- 
deemed in  Heaven  might  choose  evil  and  fall.  It  has  been 
held  also  that  his  teacher  Clement  believed  in  the  possibil- 
ity of  repentance  and  salvation  after  death ;  but  Love  de- 
nies this,'  and  holds  that  Clement  was  not  a  Universalist. 
He  taught  that  punishment  might  be  remedial  in  its  ten- 
dency', but  not  necessarily  in  its  effects.  He  admitted  a 
purgatory  for  Jews  and  Gentiles  dying  before  Christ  came, 
in  which  they  would  hear  the  gospel ;  but  of  probation 
after  death  for  others  he  knows  nothing.  The  current  er- 
rors about  Clement's  teachings,  he  says,  come  from  Kede- 
penning,  who  has  been  bUndly  followed  by  others. 

Schepss  shows  also  that  the  Priscillians  were  less  heret- 
ical than  has  been  hitherto  taught.^  From  the  writings  of 
Priscillian,  recently  discovered,^  we  see  that  he  did  not 
favor  Gnostic,  Monarchian,  Montanist  or  Manich^ean  er- 
rors; neither  did  he  follow  the  Novatians  in  repeating 
baptism.  He  held  that  Jesus  Christ  was  ''God,  the  Son  of 
God,  crucified  for  us."  He  says,  "Anathema  be  to  him 
who  denies  that  our  Lord  God  was  fastened  by  a  nail  and 
drank  the  vinegar."  He  calls  the  Manich^ans  idolators, 
fit  only  for  the  sword  and  hell  fire.  The  charges  of  Mani- 
chf^eism  were  made  against  him  by  heretical  interpolator!^ 
of  the  Bible.  His  enemies  were  those  who  "under  the 
name  of  zeal  pursued  domestic  enmities."     He  says,  in  his 


'^Clement  of  Alexandria  not  an  After-Death  Prohationist  or  Uni- 
versalist,  in  The  Bibliotheca  Sacra.     Oct.  1888. 

-Priscilliani  quae  super  sunt  ct'c,  in  Corpus  Scriptorum  Eccles.  Lati- 
norum.  Vol.  XVIII.     Leipzig,  Freitag,  1889. 

•^Cf.  Current  Discussions,  Vol.  V,  1S88,  p.  158. 


162  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Book  to  Bishop  Damasus,  that  at  a  synod  held  in  Saragossa 
none  of  his  followers  were  convicted  of  any  false  teaching.  He 
admits  that  some  of  them  had  separated  from  the  Church 
and  commanicated  by  themselves,  but  it  was  because  of 
unworthy  clergy  in  the  Church,  and  not  through  love  of 
division  or  following  the  Manichaeans  in  setting  up  pseudo- 
bishops.  The  stories,  too,  that  the  Priscillians  had  a  Fifth 
Gospel  and  used  apocryphal  Scriptures  he  denounces  as 
false.  In  his  essay  on  Faith  and  the  Apocrypha,  how^ever, 
he  holds  that  the  apostles  read  books  not  in  our  Canon. 
He  refers  to  Jude's  quotation  from  the  Book  of  Enoch,  and 
Tobit's  reference  to  Noah  and  others  as  prophets,  also  to 
Luke's  speaking  of  Abel  as  a  prophet,  to  prove  that  there 
were  prophecies  not  in  our  Bible,  He  says  that  only  igno- 
rant zeal  can  deny  this.  Paul  also  told  the  church  in  Co- 
lossae  to  read  the  Epistle  to  the  Laodiceans,  which  is  not 
in  the  Canon;  why  may  we  not  use  such  writings,  he 
urges,  if  they  have  been  remembered  or  preserved  in  any 
other  way  ?  Schepss  thinks  this  new  source  proves  that 
Priscillian,  the  first  Christian  put  to  death  for  heresy  by 
Christians  [A.  D.  385],  deviated  in  no  respect  from  ortho- 
dox teachings ;  he  died  rather  a  martyr  to  free  thought  and 
a  pure  Church.  Haupt  takes  the  same  view.  Bnt  Moel- 
ler  (1.  c.  p.  465)  and  Loofs^  hold  thatPriscillian's  strong  as- 
cetic tendency,  his  conventicle  movement,  separating  from 
the  Church  as  w^orldly,  was  strongly  influenced  by  dualistic 
Gnostic  speculations,  his  Christology  was  Apollinarian, 
while  his  ethics  and  exposition  of  the  Bible  point  also  to- 
wards Gnostic  theories. 


Theologische  Literaturzeitung.     1890,  N.  1, 


THE    EARLY   CHURCH.  163 

Everywhere  in  this  early  theology  we  come  upon  places 
of  contact  between  Christianity  and  philosophy ;  it  is  not 
often  that  anything  here  reminds  us  of  the  supposed  con- 
flict between  the  Bible  and  modern  science.  Kecent  stud- 
ies, however,  of  Augustine's  doctrine  of  creation  show  that 
the  Book  of  Genesis  had  to  answer  at  the  bar  of  reason  be- 
fore the  Frank  had  crossed  the  Rhine  or  the  Saxon  set  foot 
in  Britain.^  The  scientific  views  that  Augustine  met  in 
pagan  Rome  were  not  very  unlike  modern  theories.  They 
taught  that  matter  and  force  were  the  source  of  all  things. 
Through  these,  original  material  chaos  developed  into  suns 
and  systems  and  harmony  of  life.  This  science  went  so 
far  as  to  teach  a  world  builder,  but  the  idea  of  a  world 
creator  was  not  thought  of.  Here  Augustine  found  the 
Bible  teaching  a  most  scientific  advance.  Matter  was  a 
product  of  Almighty  power ;  the  forces  in  it  were  implant- 
ed by  God ;  and  through  his  constant  co-operation  these 
forces  continue  to  act.  He  held  firmly  that  God  wrought 
in  the  formation  of  the  world  gradually,  and  by  means  of 
the  laws  implanted  in  matter.  He  finds  the  origin  of  species 
in  certain  seminal  laws,  which  the  Creator  put  in  the  ele- 
ments of  the  world.  These  ''original  germs,"  or  ''laws  of 
seeds,"  produced  seeds,  which  now  reproduce  their  kind. 
To  him  our  terms,  like  Bildwngstrieb  or  nisus  formativus, 
would  not  have  sounded  at  all  strange.  He  does  not  shrink 
from  regarding  the  creation  of  man  as  taking  place  accord- 
ing to  these  same  laws;  "before  all  visible  seeds  there 
were  those  primal  causes  "  at  work.  Adam's  body  gradu- 
ally developed.     The  soul   was  the  animating  principle  in 


^Cf.  Raich.  St.  Augustinus  u.  d.  Mosaische   Schopfimgsbericht,    in 
Frankfurter  Zeitgemdsse  Broschiiren.     Bd.  X.  H.  5.  1889. 


164  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  formative  potency  which  framed  the  body.  The  soul 
built  the  bodily  home  in  which  it  rules  as  queen ;  and  it  did 
so  in  virtue  of  a  natural  impulse  created  in  it.  The  ac- 
count of  creation  in  Genesis  he  regards  as  a  dramatic  pic- 
ture of  divine,  creative  activity,  presented  in  six  acts ;  the 
days  mean  great  periods,  or  different  phases  of  the  one 
work.  Such  an  account  of  creation  may  be  news  to  some 
modern  critics,  who  rarely  notice  that  for  fifteen  hundred 
years  the  greatest  Father  of  the  Church  has  been  on  record 
against  all  narrow  views  of  science  and  religion.  Men  of 
,the  ''Dark  Ages,"  too,  like  Thomas  Aquinas  and  Albertus 
Magnus,  praise  these  views.  Augustine  agrees  with 
modern  teleological  evolutionists,  such  as  Wigand ;  for 
both  teach  the  constancy  of  species,  both  hold  that 
the  organic  world  is  the  result  of  development  of  rudi- 
mentary conditions ;  they  differ,  however,  in  Wigand 
thinking  that  all  developed  from  one  original  cell,  while 
Augustine  received  an  original  cell  for  each  species. 

Where  the  great  Father's  doctrine  of  creation  differed 
from  that  of  Darwin  has  been  shown  in  a  study  by  Grass - 
mann.^  Augustine  allowed  individual  things  a  real  exist- 
ence, while  Darwin  was  an  extreme  Nominalist,  and  held 
that  one  species  could  pass  into  another.  The  theologian 
thought  that  all  first  organizations  arose  through  the  be- 
getting of  God,  who  worked  through  the  forces  that  he  had 
implanted  in  earth  and  water ;  the  scientist  considered  it 
"nonsense  to  think  at  present  on  the  origin  of  life."  The 
one  taught  that  the  souls  of  animals  and  men  are  distinct, 
the  human  soul  being  the  form  of  the  body,  but  further  an 


^Die    Schopfungslehre   des   heil.    Augustinus   u.  Darwins.     Prize 
Essay.  Kegensburg,  Marz.  1889. 


THE    EARLY    ClllliClI.  165 

active  being,  which  can  act  independently  of  every  organ: 
the  other  held  that  all  souls  of  animals  and  men  differ 
only  in  degree,  not  in  kind.  Augustine  regarded  Nature 
as  penetrated  and  ruled  by  the  thought  of  God ;  Darwin's 
view  of  Nature  was  mechanical,  and  explained  all  by  mat- 
ter and  force ;  ''a  foreign  intelligence"  controlling  Nature 
cannot  be  accepted. 

What  iVugustine  Avas,  especially  as  an  opponent  of  her- 
esy, in  the  Latin  Church,  that  was  Ephraim,  his  early  con- 
temporary, in  the  Syrian  Church.^  He  finds  the  work  of 
theology  to  be  the  exploration  of  what  God  has  revealed 
in  the  Bible.  Speculation  on  what  is  not  revealed  he 
considers  a  device  of  Satan  to  destroy  faith.  He  regards 
man  as  the  bond  of  created  things,  uniting  in  his  body  and 
soul  the  world  of  matter  and  spirit.  The  soul,  he  says, 
has  three  great  attributes,  rationality,  immortality,  and 
invisibility.  The  privilege  of  the  likeness  of  God  in  man 
he  finds  in  (1)  freedom  of  will  joined  to  dominion 
over  created  things,  (2)  in  capability  to  accept  all  the  gifts 
of  God,  and  (3)  in  the  activity  of  the  human  spirit,  which 
can  bring  all  within  the  realm  of  its  thoughts.  God  for- 
bade Adam  to  eat  from  the  tree  of  knowledge,  in  order  to 
show  him  that  God  is  creator  and  Lord,  to  show  man  the 
distinction  between  good  and  evil  as  resting  in  the  divine 
will,  and  by  obedience  to  lead  Adam  from  the  outward  to 
the  heavenly  Paradise.  Ephraim  thinks  if  our  first  par- 
ents had  at  once  repented  they  would  have  avoided  much 
evil.  The  number  of  children  born  would  have  been  much 
less,    for  none  would  have  died ;    the  pains  of  child-birth 


^See  Eirainer,  Der  heilUje  Ephraim  der  Syrer.      Kempten:    Kosel. 
1889. 


166  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

would  have  been  absent;  and  chastisement  of  the  young- 
would  have  been  unnecessary.  Like  some  brethren  now, 
the  Syrian  Father  argued  that  the  end  of  the  world  must 
be  near,  because  of  the  lack  of  love  on  earth  and  the  gen- 
eral misery.  He  thought  the  Last  Judgment  would  be 
held  on  the  spot  where  Christ  was  crucified.^ 

IV.       ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    EARLY    CHURCH. 

Whether  any  form  of  church  polity  is  a  thing  of  divine 
revelation  is  still  an  open  question,  with  the  drift  among 
historic  students  apparently  increasing  against  the  theory 
of  divine  right.  Withrow  still  holds^  to  the  organization  of 
the  Church  as  from  God,  at  least  so  far  as  concerns  the 
local  congregation.  Beyond  this  the  divine  order  extends 
only  indirectly.  "Association,  whether  of  churches  or 
rulers,  is  a  Scriptural  principle.  The  association  of  elders 
in  the  government  of  a  local  church,  that  is,  the  congrega- 
tional presbytery,  is  a  divine  institution ;  the  association 
of  the  rulers  of  different  congregations  for  managing  mat- 
ters in  common,  that  is,  the  district  presbytery,  is  simply 
a  matter  of  agreement  and  consent,  but  is  the  outcome  of 
a  principle  that  has  received  divine  sanction  again  and 
again."      What  is    divinely    established   is    the  congrega- 

^Harnack's  Grundriss  der  Dogmengeschichte,  viii,  pp.  183,  Freiburg 
i.  B.,  Mohr.  M.  4.  1888,  is  a  brilliant  outline  of  the  theology  of  the 
Greek  Church  and  very  suggestive,  especially  to  teachers.  A  valua- 
ble outline,  covering  the  whole  history,  is  Loofs,  Leitfaden  f.  seine 
Vorlesiingen  ilher  Dogmengeschichte.  Halle:  Niemeyer.  1889.   pp.  302. 

Farrer's  Lives  of  the  Fathers,  Edinburgh,  1889,  an  attractive  work, 
unduly  praises  the  Greek  Fathers  and  unduly  criticizes  the  liatin. 

^The  Form  of  the  Christian  Temijlt.  New  York,  Scribner  &  Wel- 
ford,  1889. 


THE    EARLY    CUVliril.  167 

tional  presbyteiy,  with  its  elders,  pastors  and  teachers.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  this  Presbyterian  divine  teaches 
Congregationalism  de  jure  divino,  and  Presbyterianism  as 
a  valid  inference  therefrom. 

The  most  prominent  men  in  the  Apostolic  Church  were, 
of  course,  the  apostles,  and  with  them  questions  of  organ- 
ization in  the  first  Church  usually  begin.  Koppel  finds^ 
that  Paul  calls  himself  an  apostle  on  his  second  mission- 
ary journey,  hence  the  name  did  not  arise  first  in  the  lit- 
erary part  of  his  career.  He  uses  the  term  as  a  general 
title,  well  known  since  the  Apostolic  Council,  and  also 
before  that  time  Paul  was  recognized  as  an  apostle  by  the 
eleven,  as  original,  deriving  his  authority  from  Christ,  not 
from  the  other  apostles.  He  was  so  recognized  at  the 
Council  in  Jerusalem.  His  apostolate  rested  upon  his 
call  by  Christ,  and  upon  his  special  endowment  as  mis- 
sionary to  the  Gentiles.  His  acquaintance  with  the 
Twelve  was  for  him  a  secondary  matter.  What  made 
ever}''  apostle  was  the  call  of  these  men,  assured  of  salva- 
tion in  Christ,  to  found  churches  of  Christ.  Paul's  apos- 
tleship  was  not  attacked  in  Corinth  or  Galatia  because  of 
any  outward  mark  of  it  lacking  or  present ;  the  nature  of 
this  office  rested,  according  to  the  view  in  apostolic 
days,  not  in  outer  signs,  but  in  the  power  of  God,  shown  in 
miracles,  wrought  in  strong  faith  and  love,  in  the  founding 
of  Christian  Brotherhood.  An  apostle  njeant  every  preacher 
of  the  gospel,  so  far  as  his  activity  was  devoted  essentially 
to  the  founding  or  first  building  up  of  churches  in  an  in- 
dependent manner.  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  so  re- 
garded  apostles.     Seufert's  idea  of  a  gradual  limiting   of 

^Studien  und  Kritiken.     H.  2.     1889. 


168  IIISTOBK'AL    THEOLOGY. 

the  number  to  twelve  by  Judaizing  Cliristians,  to  exclude 
Paul,  is  rejected.  Yet  Paul  (I  Cor.  xv,  1-11)  admits  a 
certain  precedence  of  the  Twelve,  a  circle  of  workers  who 
labored  with  Jesus.  But  this  circle  was  not  enlarged  or 
completed  by  his  activity.  After  those  eye  witnesses  had 
been  chosen  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  for  that  purpose 
the  circle  of  the  apostles  of  the  circumcision  enlarged, 
there  was  added  to  this  group  another  group  of  apos- 
tles to  the  Gentiles.  Apostleship  is  a  calling ;  it  belonged 
to  the  Twelve,  and  to  be  one  of  the  Twelve  w-as  a 
peculiar  honor :  but  at  first  the  name  apostle  was  a 
wide  designation,  which  gradually  became  more  precise, 
and  was  limited  to  the  calling  of  the  missionary  only. 
In  Pauline  churches,  Paul's  apostleship  came  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  typical  one ;  in  other  churches,  the  idea 
became  more  general,  and  was  not  closely  limited  to 
the  Twelve.  The  Petrine  circles  also  regarded  the  apos- 
tolate  as  resting  upon  personal,  spiritual  gifts,  and  not 
upon  official  character ;  though  the  needs  of  the  churches 
led  to  a  recognition  of  the  higher  authority  of  a  group 
of  men  under  the  apostles,  and  other  prominent  leaders, 
which  grew  into  a  necessary  and  sound  limitation  of 
the  number.  In  Jewish  regions,  this  narrowing  of 
the  number  would  very  likely  lead  to  the  limitation  to 
the  Twelve,  as  suggested  in  the  Apocalypse,  in  respect 
of  the  continuity  of  a  prophetic  picture.  Koppel  also 
finds  that  the  Gospels  do  not  limit  the  disciples  of 
Christ  to  the  Twelve,  though  they  have  a  place  of 
honor ;  the  Twelve  w^ere  the  inner  circle  of  the  disci- 
ples. It  was  a  dogmatizing  tendency  wdiich  later  lim- 
ited all  honor  to  the  Twelve.  This  tendency  appears  even 
in  the  Gospels  of  Matthew  and  John.  This  position  of  Koppel 


THE    EARLY    ('//rhun,  169 

seems,  in  the  liglit  of  the  Dldache,  very  probable.  But 
so  much  the  less  probable  seems  the  claim  of  Apostolic 
Succession  still  made  in  the  name  of  history  for  the  tra- 
ditional Episcopate.  In  support  of  this  claim  Bishop  Coxe 
finds^  that  Barnabas  and  Paul  form  "an  enlargement  of 
the  Apostolic  College."  Then  came  the  "apostles  [or  an- 
gels] of  the  Churches,"  men  like  Titus  and  Timothy,  who 
began  the  Apostolic  Episcopate,  which  had  the  ordinary, 
not  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Twelve.  That  is  the 
view  of  Canon  Liddon,^  whom  Coxe  follows  in  makmg  the 
first  bishops  an  outgrowth  of  such  men  incorporated  into 
the  Apostolate. 

This  explanation  does  not  tell  us  what  became  of  the 
bishops  already  in  existence  in  the  days  of  the  apostles, 
while  it  assumes  that  the  office  of  Timothy  and  Titus  was 
permanent  and  had  full  apostolic  power.  Then,  what  of 
the  identity  of  primitive  presbyters  and  bishops,  which 
Eeimensyder  has  just  proved  again^  from  the  Didache  ?  We 
may  be  told  by  Livius'^  that  Peter  the  apostle  was  bishop 
of  Eome,  and  that  for  twenty-five  years ;  but  a  reviewer 
weir  replies^  that  until  A.  D.  350  "  no  extant  writer  speaks  of 
the  duration  of  St.  Peter's  Roman  Episcopate."  Further, 
Peter  is  hardly  ever,  in  the  first  three  centuries,  called 
"bishop"  of  anv  See,  Antioch  or  Eome.     The  statements 


^Thc  History  and  Teaching  of  the  Early  Church,  as  a  basis  for  the 
Re-iirion  of  Christendom.  Five  lectures  by  different  writers.  Young 
&  Co.,  New  York,  1889. 

^Cf.  Current  Discussions,  Vol.  IV.  1887.  p.  142. 

^The  Lutheran  Quarterly,  Jan.  1889. 

*St  Peter,  Bishop  of  Rome.      London,  Burns  &  Gates.  1889. 

'The  English  Historical  Review.     Oct.  1889. 


170  HISTOBICAL    THEOLOGY. 

about  Rome  make  Peter  and  Paul  common  founders  of  the 
cburcli  there.  It  was  not  till  the  See  of  Rome  became 
"the  chair  of  Peter"  instead  of  the  " foundation  of  Peter 
and  Paul",  that  the  idea  of  an  episcopate  of  St.  Peter 
became  possible.  The  "  primitive  evidence  with  singular 
unanimit}^  withholds  from  St.  Peter  both  the  title  of  bishop 
and  a  place  in  the  Episcopal  catalogue.  "  Apostles  and 
bishops  had  different  duties ;  and  an  apostle  with  his  field 
limited  to  one  city  would  cease  to  be  such.  So  the  tra- 
ditional bishop  is  not  a  diminutive  apostle,  neither  can  he 
be  traced  to  Timothy,  while  to  identify  him  with  the 
bishop  of  the  New  Testament  is  dangerous,  for  most 
scholars  agree  that  this  bishop  was  a  presbyter.  Where, 
then,  did  this  monarchical  bishop  come  from?  We  are 
familiar  with  the  view  of  Hatcli^,  that  this  official  was 
borrowed  from  the  religious  clubs  of  the  heathen.  But  Loen- 
ing  sa3"s"'^  that  no  proof  has  been  brought  for  this  .view,  or 
for  the  general  theory  that  the  constitution  of  the  early 
Church  was  framed  in  imitation  of  the  forms  of  pagan 
societies.  He  thinks  that  not  only  in  Palestine,  but  even 
in  the  Gentile  churches  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  first 
century,  an  elected  committee  of  elders  existed.  This 
"name  and  establishment  of  elders  were  taken  from  the 
constitution  of  the  Jewish  congregations, "  and  formed  a 
transition  stage  in  the  growth  towards  the  monarchical 
episcopate,  though  its  influence  was  not  entirely  lost.  The 
later  bishop  arose    as    follows :     The    first  bishopric,    as 


'Cf.    Current  Discussions,  Vol.  I,  1883,  p.  98;    Vol.  IV,  1887,  p.  143; 
Vol.  V.  1888,  p.  165. 

•Die  Gemeindeverfassuno  des  Urchristenlhums.     Halle,    Niemeyer. 

1888. 


THE    EARLY   CHURCH .  171 

Hegesippus  tells  us,  arose  in  Palestine,  in  connection  with 
the  position  that  James  held  in  Jerusalem  and  his  relation 
to  the  Lord.  It  took  here  the  monarchical  form  without 
any  reference  to  the  church  constitutions  of  either  Jews  or 
Greeks,  synagogues  or  pagan  clubs.  The  bishop,  he  says, 
was  not  an  outgrowth  of  the  moderator  of  the  committee  of 
elders,  or  of  the  Eoman  system  of  Mysteries— for  the 
bishop  arose  in  the  East — or  of  Greek  cults  or  municipal- 
ities ;  the  bishop  arose  in  imitation  of  a  man  like  Simeon, 
who  followed  James  in  Jerusalem,  and  because  of  the  need 
of  greater  unity  in  the  congregation  than  the  congrega- 
tional presbytery  could  effect,  to  guard  against  the  con- 
venticle system  and  other  disturbing  elements :  but  the 
idea  of  being  Christ's  representative,  after  the  model  of 
Simeon,  was  the  starting  point  for  the  monarchical  epis- 
copate. In  this  direction  Ignatius  is  the  typical  follower 
of  Simeon.  In  the  conflict  with  Gnostic  errors,  the  idea 
of  imparting  a  yapiap-a^  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  the  laying  on 
of  hands,  must  receive  a  very  different  efficiency  from  that 
given  it  in  Judaism.  There  was  joined  to  it  now  the 
thought  that  bishops  were  successors  of  the  Apostles  in 
their  office,  in  order  to  confirm  the  monarchical  position 
of  the  bishops.  So,  in  the  second  century,  the  new  order 
of  bishops,  presbyters  and  deacons  appeared.  Another 
new  thing  also  now  appeared,  the  idea  of  clergy  and  laity 
as  distinct  classes.  At  first,  as  Loening  urges,  there  was 
no  clerical  class,  as  such,  in  the  Koman  world;  no  pastors, 
no  moral  guides,  no  authorative  teachers  of  sound  doctrine. 
Gradually,  the  clergy  became  a  distinct  class,  regarded  as 
successors  of  the  Apostles,  preservers  of  sound  doctrine, 
and,  since  the  end  of  the  second  century,  viewed  as  were 
the  priests  of  the  Old  Testament  among  the  Jews. 


172  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY 

Harnack  defends  his  view  of  the  separate  origin  of 
presbyters  and  bishops,  and  their  later  union,  against 
Loening.i  He  thinks  still  that  "the  bishops  formed  at  first 
a  committee^  Avhich  had  charge  of  the  worship  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  in  connection  with  that  managed  also  the 
money  matters  of  the  church. "  Hence  the  presbyters,  in 
the  first  centmy,  were  not  office  bearers,  and  did  not  coin- 
cide with  this  committee  of  bishops.  These  early  elders 
were  men  of  experience,  honored  for  their  long  service,  and 
not  officials.  These  elders,  however,  soon  formed  a  com- 
mittee of  their  own,  a  committee  chosen  from  the  formless 
group  of  "old  men,  "  in  larger  congregations,  which  was 
not  the  same  as  that  of  the  bishops  and  deacons.  He  de- 
fends well  the  position  that  Apostles,  Prophets  and 
Teachers  had  the  highest  place  of  honor,  from  which  they 
advised  the  churches  authoritatively  in  matters  of  morals, 
doctrines,  and  methods.  As  men  called  of  God,  they 
could  direct  all  forms  of  Church  activity.  He  says  that 
only  by  grasping  the  significance  of  the  original,  spiritual- 
despotic  element  in  the  early  Church,  the  charismatic 
preachers  of  the  Word  of  God,  can  we  understand  how  a 
despotic  power  could  develop  in  these  early  churches, 
which  were  free,  democratic  societies.  At  first  there  ap- 
peared in  the  churches  [1]  prophets  and  teachers,  [2]  "  old 
men"  or  patrons,  to  wdiom  "honor"  was  due,  then  [3] 
elected  officers  of  administration ;  that,  he  thinks,  must  be 
the  starting  point  in  the  study  of  early  church  constitu- 
tions. From  this  point  of  view  it  can  be  seen  that  the 
monarchical  bishop  was  just  "the  cumulation  of  the  digni- 
ties of  the  president  of  the  committee  of  elders,  and  of  the 

^Theoloyische  Literaturzeitung.     3889.  No.  17. 


THE   EARLY    CIirRCII.  173 

teacher  upon  the  head  of  the  highest  officer  of  worship ; 
and  his  position  was  further  made  secure  by  the  theory  of 
his  being  successor  of  the  apostles.  "^  Harnack  admits, 
however,  that  his  theory  cannot  stand  if  the  Acts  and  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  are  writings  of  the  first  century,  and 
w^arns  against  the  use  of  these  as  such. 

Sanday  thinks^  that  we  must  still  hold  our  judgment  in 
suspense  respecting  the  growth  of  church  organizations 
before  A.  D.  150;  but  for  the  period  between  that  date  and 
the  Council  of  Nicaea,  we  are  nearer  reaching  a  satisfact- 
ory conclusion.  He  opposes  a  writer  in  The  Church  Quar- 
terly Review,  July,  1888,  and  agrees  rather  with  Hatch, 
in  holding  (1)  that  there  were  in  this  second  period  two 
or  more  bishops  of  one  See  ;  (2)  that  the  earliest  Episco- 
pacy was  Congregational;  (3)  that  the  earliest  churches 
were  independent  communities ;  and  (4)  that  the  rudiments 
of  national  churches  did  not  appear  before  the  fourth  cen- 
tury. These  are  most  encouraging  results  to  be  reached 
by  two  scholarly  historians  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 
show  the  impartial  spirit  that  is  fostered  by  modern  his- 
toric methods.  Eamsay  argues  in  the  same  direction  from 
a  study  of  early  Phrygian  inscriptions  {l,  c.).  He  thinks 
that  the  Phrygian  Christians  were  organized  somewhat 
like  the  "funeral  clubs"  of  the  heathen.  This  province  was 
under  the  rule  of  the  Senate,  not  the  Emperor,  and  hence 
had  more  municipal  liberty  than  any  imperial  province. 
Trade  guilds,  united  in  the  worship  of  a  god,  existed  here ; 


*Cf.  also  Gore,  Ministry  of  the  Christian  Church.  London,  1889., 
who  thinks  the  traveling  apostle  or  prophet  "localized'  in  the  Con- 
gregational Presbytery,  became  the  bishop. 

"The  Expositor.  Nov.  1888. 


174  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

SO  there  is  no  reason  wb}'  Christian  societies  might  not  be 
tolerated.  A  bequest  of  property  by  a  Christian,  A.  D.  253, 
gives  it  to  the  "Society  of  the  First  Gate  People,"  on  con- 
dition that  they  keep  roses  upon  the  grave  of  the  donor's 
wife.  This  -society  must  have  been  legal  to  accept  such  a 
commission ;  it  was  doubtless  Christian,  and  very  likely  in 
the  form  of  a  Burial  Club,  to  which  the  care  of  the  tomb 
was  legally  entrusted.  Still  earlier,  another  man  left 
property  to  the  "Council  of  Presidence  of  the  Purple- 
Dippers,"  which  Piamsay  thinks,  was  the  governing  body 
of  the  Christian  congregation.  "Council  of  Presidence"  is 
unique,  meaning  probably  the  Presidents,  as  Eusebius 
speaks  of  the  bishop  as  President  of  the  church.  In  that 
case  we  have  here  the  council  of  presbyters,  which  co-oper- 
ated with  the  bishop,  called  by  Ignatius  the  "council  of  the 
the  bishop."  Hierapolis,  w^herethis  inscription  was  found, 
was  a  great  place  for  dyers,  and  a  heathen  society  of 
"the  Corporation  of  Dyers"  is  known  to  have  been  here. 
But  the  Christian  society  was  known  as  the  "Purple  Dip- 
pers," or,  as  the  word  can  be  rendered,  the  Purple-Dipped, 
likely  intentionally  ambiguous,  meaning  perhaps  those 
dipped  in  blood.  Eamsay  finds  the  title  of  bishop  but  once 
in  the  inscriptions,  and  then  in  the  fourth  century.  Pres- 
bj'ters  occur  often,  for  "the  evidence  points  clearly  to  the 
conclusion,  that  the  term  presbyter  was  much  more  com- 
monly used  in  Phrygia  than  bishop,  to  denote  the  head  of 
the  church  in  each  district."  The  names  were  frequently 
equivalent,  he  adds,  in  early  times,  and  the  title  bishop 
was  not  in  ordinary  use  in  the  early  Phrygian  church. 
"The  leader  and  equal  of  the  Apostles  exercised  his  su- 
preme and  implicitly  accepted  authority  under  the  humble 


THE    EARLY   CHURCH.  175 

title  of  presbyter."  He  was  one  among  a  number  person- 
ally prominent,  not  officially  designated.  There  is  no 
evidence,  he  continues,  that  Montanus  was  ever  called 
bishop.  •  It  is  now  generally  considered  that  he  repre- 
sented the  old  school  of  Phrygian  Christianity,  as  opposed 
to  the  hierarchical  Church,  which  was  making  Christianity 
a  power  in  the  world.  But  the  bishops  arose  and  crushed 
the  Phrygian  church  methods  ;  Montanism  was  suppressed  ; 
and  after  A.  D.  160,  church  organization  took  shape 
according  to  the  civil  organization,  every  city  having 
its  owii  bishop,  every  metropolis  having  its  own  arch- 
bishop. But  the  thought  of  the  Phrygian  Christians  re- 
mained primitive,  and  we  long  hear  of  Phrygian  "heresies." 
The  first  church  Synods  met,  under  the  lead  of  bishops, 
to  stop  the  outburst  and  protest  of  free,  charismatic.  Con- 
gregational Puritanism,  as  seen  in  Montanism.  The  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church  became  Episcopal ;  the  next  step 
was  towards  the  supremacy  of  great  bishops,  culminating 
in  the  Papacy.  A  recent  Roman  Catholic  writer^  finds  very 
wonderful  currents  bearing  the  boat  of  St.  Peter  to  Piome. 
He  "treats  of  the  Papacy  deprived  of  all  temporal  support 
from  the  fall  of  the  Western  Empire,  taking  up  the  secular 
capital  into  a  ne^v  spiritual  Piome,  and  creating  a  Christen- 
dom out  of  the  northern  tribes,  w^ho  had  subverted  the 
Pioman  Empire."  This  creation  of  the  German  races  from 
Pagans  and  Arians  into  a  body  of  states  whose  center  of 
union  and  belief  was  the  See  of  Peter,  Allies  considers  a 
wonder  of  historv,  like  that  which  w^e  see  in  the  rise  of  the 


billies,  The  Formation  of  Christendom.  Vol  VI.  The  Holy  See  and 
the  \Vaudenng  of  the  Nations.  From  St.  Leo  I  to  St.  Gregory  I. 
New  York:  Catholic  Publication  Society,  1888. 


176  IIISTOEICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Papacy  itself.  He  sees  in  the  confirmation  of  the  decrees 
of  the  Foiiith  General  Council  by  Leo  I,  just  at  a  time  when 
Attila  had  been  turned  from  Eome  and  Genseric  was  pre- 
paring to  sack  the  city,  "a  special  intention  of  -Diyine 
Providence,"  whereby  the  two  Koman  Emperors,  just  when 
the  Western  Emperor  was  about  to  fall,  and  the  whole 
Episcopate  in  solemn  form  should  attest  the  Pioman 
bishop's  universal  pastorship.  A  great  period,  he  says, 
was  ending,  that  of  the  Gr^co-Pioman  civilization,  from 
which  after  three  centuries  of  persecution,  the  Church  had 
obtained  recognition ;  and  a  great  period  was  beginning, 
when  the  Wandering  of  the  Nations  had  prepared  for  the 
Church  another  task.  The  majestic  figure  of  Leo  ex- 
pressed the  completion  of  the  first  task ;  the  solemn  figure 
of  Gregory  I  showed  the  Papacy  thoroughly  prepared  to 
undertake  the  second.  With  him  "began  the  Church's 
Eome." 

As  Eome  fell  more  and  more  under  the  power  of  the 
Papacy,  material  affairs  and  matters  of  civil  and  financial 
nature  took  a  larger  place  in  the  thoughts  and  energies  of 
the  Church.  The  ways  and  means  for  the  material  support 
of  the  Papacy  form  a  most  interesting  subject  of  inquiry, 
recently  discussed  by  Schwarzlose.^  The  Eoman  Church 
was  supported  from  its  patrimonial  possessions,  which 
grew  rapidly  from  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  espe- 
cially because  of  three  influences,  the  conversion  to  Christi- 
anity of  the  leading  families  of  Eome,  the  great  elevation 
of  papal  power  under  Leo  the  Great,  and  especially  through 
the  military  and  political  want  which  burst  over  Ital}^ 
after    the   fall  of  the  Western    Empire.     After    this    the 


^  Zeitschrift  f.  Kirchengeschicfite.    Bd.  XL  H.  I    1889. 


TJiK  KMiLY  en  me  II.  177 

Eoman  See  possessed  large  estates  in  all  parts  of  Italy,  in 
Gaul,  Africa,  an«l  in  far-off  Asia,  all  of  which  were  culti- 
vated in  a  masterly  manner.  This  property,  in  its  politi- 
cal relations,  was  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  Empire,  and 
the  Pope  laid  no  claim  to  sovereign  rule.  The  income 
from  the  patrimonia  was  m  money  and  in  natural  pro- 
ducts, which  the  tenants  paid  twice  a  year.  The  actual 
amount  received  cannot  be  learned,  but  it  must  have  been 
large.  It  supported  a  vast  system.  Incidentally  we  hear 
that  8,000  nuns  were  provided  for  inKome  wdien  Gregory  I 
was  Pope,  and  that  they  received  for  bedding  alone  $3,265, 
with  an  additional  annual  amount  of  $17,900.  Vast  sums 
w'ere  spent  upon  the  poor.  In  one  time  of  want  in  Eome 
Gregory  I  spent  $18,375  for  food.  The  mission  of  Augus- 
tine to  England  vv^as  paid  for  out  of  these  funds.  Pelagius 
II,  the  predecessor  of  Gregory  I,  paid  $652,500  to  invaders. 
These  illustrations  all  show  how  far  the  successor  of  Peter 
was  from  saj'ing  "  Silver  and  gold  have  I  none,"  wdien  he 
turned  from  the  sinking  Eastern  Empire  towards  the  Ger- 
man races,  to  whom  he  was  to  send  the  gospel  and  over 
whom  he  was  to  rule  as  Caesar  in  the  place  of  Ciesar. 

V.       HISTORY    OF     WORSHIP. 

The  most  important  work  of  the  past  year,  touching 
on  worship,  treats  of  the  Christmas  Festival  and  the  ser- 
vices connected  w^ith  it.  We  know  that  until  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourth  century  the  Church  did  not  celebrate 
either  Epiphany  or  Christmas  as  festivals ;  but  about  that 
time  both  of  these  appeared,  the  one  on  the  sixth  of  Janu- 
ary, the  other  on  the  twenty- fifth  of  December.     The  ques- 


178  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

tion  is,  however,  just  when  and  how  these  festivals  arose ; 
and  this  question  Usener  sets  himself  to  answer^  in  an 
elaborate  work.  He  leaves  no  stone  unturned,  and  as  to 
the  time  and  place  of  the  origin  "of  these  sacred  seasons 
his  explanation  is  thorough  and  conclusive.  Christmas, 
celebrated  on  Dec.  25,  appeared  first  in  Eome,  where  we 
find  Bishop  Liberius,  in  358,  keeping  Christmas  on  Jan.  6, 
but  the  next  year,  354,  holding  the  Festival  on  Dec.  25. 
So  that  point  is  settled  exactly.  From  Eome  this  usage 
spread  to  the  East,  in  the  reign  of  Theodosius  the  Great, 
a  Western  Emperor,  who  then  extended  his  sway  over  both 
East  and  West.  The  December  Christmas  was  first  cele- 
brated in  Constantinople,  A.  D.  379.  Through  Constanti- 
nople this  Festival  entered  the  East.  In  380  it  was 
known  in  Antioch,  though  not  celebrated  by  the  church 
till  388.  It  was  observed  in  Cappadocia  by  382,  and  in 
the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  it  occurs  in  the  province 
of  Diospontus.  Until  A.  D.  400,  both  the  birth  and  th3 
baptism  of  Jesus  were  celebrated  in  Egypt  on  the  sixth  of 
January;  but  under  Cyrill  the  December  Christmas  was 
observed.  In  Palestine,  the  Epiphany-Christmas  was  kept 
until  about  451,  when,  Usener  thinks.  Bishop  Juvenal,  re- 
turning from  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  where  he  had  been 
created  Patriarch,  introduced  the  new  usage  as  a  return 
for  the  favor  of  the  Council.  The  Armenian  Church  never 
accepted  the  Western  Christmas. 

W^ith    the  rise    of   the  Christmas    celebration    came 
also    the    growth    of    reverence    for    the    Virgin.       The 


^  Religionsgeschichtliche  Untersuchungen,  I.  Tlieil.  Das  Weilmachts- 
fest.  Bonn.  1889.  M.  9.  See  Harnack's  review,  in  Theolog.  Litera- 
turzeilung,  1889,  No.  8. 


THE    EARLY    CITURCIl.  179^ 

same  Liberius  who  introduced  the  Christmas  festival, 
354,  into  Eome,  founded  the  great  Mary  Basihca, 
S.  Maria  Magi/iorc,  and  led  the  Church  into  Virgin 
worship.  Of  this  church  Usener  says,  "It  was  built 
to  prepare  a  worthy  place  for  the  new  Festival.  The 
manger  of  the  gospel,  which  first  on  this  spot  performed  a 
churclily  service,  became  the  cradle  of  all  the  poetry  with 
which  faith,  art  and  legend  have  illumined  the  Holy 
Night."  In  this  connection  he  shows  how  the  growing 
ritual,  encouraged  especiallj'  by  Liberius,  was  fashioned 
after  heathen  ritual,  and  took  its  place  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people.  Thus  the  litania  minor,  used  before  the 
Ascension,  took  the  place  of  the  ancient  ambariialia,  in 
which  offerings  were  brought  to  the  Dea  Dia,  Ceres,  for  the 
fertility  of  the  fields;  and  the  litania  major  took  the  place 
of  the  rohigalia,  a  festival  to  keep  the  fields  from  mildew. 
He  shows  further  that  Candlemas,  on  Feb.  2,  took  the  place 
of  the  heathen  amhurhale,  in  which  the  Roman  Church  in- 
troduced the  procession  with  lighted  torches  instead  of  the 
ancient  anihurbium,  a  festival  for  the  purification  of  the 
city,  as  the  arnharualia  was  for  that  of  the  country.  This 
Christian  version  of  the  heathen  procession  was  made  long 
before  anybody  thought  of  celebrating  the  purification  of 
the  Mother  of  Christ,  and  the  Presentation  in  the  Temple 
as  a  Church  Festival.  Older  than  Christmas,  in  both  East 
and  West,  was  Epiphany.  In  the  time  of  Arnobius  and 
the  Donatist  schism,  this  festival  is  not  found  in  the  West ; 
but  was  introduced  shortly  after  the  Council  of  Nicaea.  It 
seems  to  have  come  into  Egypt  as  early  as  A.  D.  300,  and 
probably  spread  thence  by  means  of  the  Nicene  Council. 
"It  is  certain,"  Harnack  says,  "  that  the  Church  until  at 


180  HISrOIUCAL    THEOLOGY. 

least  A.  D.  250  nowhere  knew  this  Festival."  In  the  time 
of  Clement  of  Alexandria,  the  Gnostics  celebrated  Epip- 
hany in  honor  of  the  baptism  of  Jesus ;  but  after  it  was 
introduced  into  the  orthodox  Church  it  w^as  held  in  memory 
of  both  his  birth  and  baptism.  How  this  was  brought 
about  is  still  wrapped  in  obscurity. 

YI.       EARLY    CHRISTIAN    ART. 

The  controversy  between  Protestant  and  Eoman  Catlio- 
hc  Archaeologists,  in  respect  of  the  true  theory  of  interpret- 
ing ancient  monuments,  is  still  active.  Wilpert,  a  Catholic 
scholar,  charges^  Schultze,  Hasenclever  and  Achelis  with 
incapacity,  prejudice  and  dishonorable  use  of  material. 
These  Protestant  students  of  art  hold  that  the  early  Chris- 
tians at  first  simply  continued  to  use  and  develop  pagan  art 
ideas  and  models,  as  ornament  and  without  any  particular 
thought  connected  wdth  them,  until  later  a  time  of  reflec- 
tion came  in  the  Church  and  the  heathen  pictures  assumed 
a  conscious  Christian  character.  The  Catholic  divines  deny 
this,  and  hold  that  from  the  beginning  Christian  art  was 
consciously  moulded  by  the  thought  of  the  Church,  that  that 
thought  w^as  Pioman  Catholic,  that  such  Eoman  Catholic 
thought  is  painted  in  the  pictures  and  carved  in  the  monu- 
ments of  the  catacombs,  and  hence  the  way  to  explain  this 
early  art  is  by  a  symbolical  application  of  the  Decrees  of 
the  Council  of  Trent.  Wilpert  says  "the  earUest  Christian 
inscriptions  had  certain  marks  which  distinguished  them 
from  the  Pagan."     He  adds   that  the  w^ord  slave  was  not 


^Principienfragen  der   christlichen    Archdologie.     St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Herder,  1889*.    $1.50. 


TIII-J   IJARLV   cnrRcii.  181 

used  in  Christian  epitaphs.  But  Schultze  rephes^  that 
this  is  incorrect ;  and  the  statement  of  Wilpert  that  the 
Christians  put  ahirnnus  in  place  of  slave  he  says  will  be 
news  to  the  scientific  world.  In  the  237  inscriptions  of  the 
catacomb  of  St.  Priscilla,  the  Catholic  finds  "nothing  that 
reminds  of  idolatry  and  heathenism."  The  Protestant, 
however,  refers  to  the  13,000  Christian  inscriptions  in  Ptome, 
and  says  the  larger  field  proves  the  opposite.  This  special 
pleading  of  Catholics  in  the  name  of  archaeology  Schultze 
calls  part  of  the  Jesuit  policy,  ''the  organizing  hand"  that 
now  controls  the  Komish  Church.  From  a  comparison  of 
recent  works  by  men  of  that  communion,  he  shows  that 
early  Christian  art  is  now  made  to  teach  the  Primacy  of 
Peter,  the  Roman  Church  the  sole  repository  of  salvation,, 
the  Virgin  the  Queen  of  Heaven  and  the  great  intercessor, 
the  worship  of  saints  and  reverence  of  relics  and  pictures, 
also  the  unbloody  sacrifice  of  the  Mass.  Thus  the  whole 
theology  of  Piome  is  read  into  the  catacombs ;  and  every 
Catholic  student  is  expected  to  read  a  system  of  Piomish. 
theology,  ethics  and  worship  out  of  these  same  monumen!s. 
Further  excavations,  made  during  the  past  year,  in  the 
catacombs  of  St.  Priscilla,^  have  discovered  a  chapel,  near 
which  was  uncovered  the  ^^cubiculum  clarmn^'  of  Marcelli- 
nus,  bishop  of  Rome,  who  died  in  the  persecution  under 
Diocletian.  In  the  same  place  was  found  an  inscription 
bearing  the  names  AcilioGlabrioni  Filio,  Manius  Acilius 
Verus,  &c.,  pointing  to  the  resting  place  of  Christians  of 
the  noble  family  of  the  Acilii ;  for,  besides  Flavins  Clemens 


^Theol.  Literatiirhlatt,  1889.     No.  30;  and  Die  Alfchrist.  Bihlwerke 
u.  die  hist.  Forschung.     Leipzig.  1889.     40pp. 

-Cf.     Romische  Quartalschrlft.     1889.     Hli.  2  and  3. 


182  inSTORirAL    THEOLOGY. 

and  his  wife  Flavia  Domitilla,  Dio  Cassius  tells  us  that 
Glabrio,  who  was  consul  with  Trajan,  was  put  to  death  on 
the  same  charges  as  Flavins,  under  Domitian ;  hence  this 
light  from  the  catacombs  seems  to  confirm  the  view  that 
Glabrio  was  one  of  the  noble  mart3TS  under  Domitian.  We 
learn,  further,  from  these  excavations  that  not  a  few  of  the 
•sculptures  in  the  catacombs  were  colored  to  make  them 
look  more  life-like.  This  custom  was  in  harmony  with 
Pagan  art,  which  usually  colored  sculpture.  A  statue  of 
St.  Peter  has  the  tunic  green,  the  pallium  red,  the  beard 
and  hair  brown.  Three  groups  of  colored  sculptures  are 
distinguished :  first,  where  three  colors  are  generally  used? 
gold,  brown  and  purple  or  green,  put  on  chiefly  in  lines  or 
bands  to  help  express  the  work  of  the  chisel ;  next,  those 
completely  painted,  from  the  color  of  the  clothes  to  the 
shading  on  lips  and  cheeks,  eyes  and  hair ;  lastly,  where 
the  marble  was  treated  pictorially,  chiefly  by  gilding. 
Coloring  was  the  rule  in  early  Christian  sculpture  ;  perhaps 
there  was  no  exception. 

Another  point  of  contact  between  ancient  art  and  Chris- 
tianity recently  discussed  is  the  use  of  bells.  Schiller  and 
Poe  have  shown  in  song  how  life  in  Christian  lands  now 
circles  about  the  ringing  of  bells.  The  work  before  us^ 
takes  up  the  history  of  bells  among  the  ancient  nations  and 
points  out  how  much  it  has  been  enriched  since  the  triumph 
of  Christianity.  Bells  were  used  in  pagan  life  "to  call  the 
meetings,  to  baths,  to  marches,  to  the  circus,"  and  passed 
over  naturally  to  summon  Christian  worshipers  to  their 
j)lace  of  meeting.     Hence  we  cannot  learn   what  pope  or 


^Morillot.     Etude  siir  Vemploi  des  clochettes  chez  les  anciens  et  de- 
2)uifi  le  triomphe  du  Christianisme.     Dijon.     Damongeot.     1888. 


THE   EAULY   CIIURdl.  183 

bishop  first  used  them.  The  writers  of  the  fourth  and  fifth 
century  mention  the  use  of  bells  as  a  most  natural  occur- 
rence. In  Italy  and  Egypt,  bells  appear  in  Christian  use 
very  early :  in  Gaul,  where  the  trumpet  was  employed  to 
call  assemblies,  that  instrument  was  used  until  the  sixth  or 
seventh  century  by  Christians ;  while,  in  the  East,  bells 
were  not  so  introduced  till  the  ninth  century,  when  a  Doge 
of  Venice  sent  the  first  bells  to  Constantinople.  They 
were  not  known  in  Jerusalem  till  it  was  taken  by  Godfrey 
at  the  head  of  the  first  crusade,  1099.  Before  that  time, 
boards  were  struck  to  summon  the  congregation.  Monas- 
teries did  not  at  first  use  bells.  Pachomius  called  his 
monks  together  with  a  trumpet.  Jerome  says  the  hermits 
in  Bethlehem  were  summoned  by  the  word  iVlleluia ;  but 
from  the  sixth  century  on,  bells  were  used  in  monasteries 
also  pretty  generally. 

VII.       HISTOP.Y    OF    THEOLOGICAL    LITERATURE. 

Zockler  has  just  published^  a  brief  and  serviceable 
History  of  Tlielogical  Science,  with  special  reference  to 
Patristics.  He  classifies  this  study  between  the  History 
of  Worship  and  the  History  of  Christian  Archaeology,  and 
includes  in  it  the  circumstances  amid  which  authors  wrote, 
the  intellectual  tendencies  of  the  times,  and  the  literary  pro- 
ducts of  theologians  of  the  Church,  the  men  who  strove  to 
give  a  scientific  exposition  of  the  Christian  religion.  This 
early  Christian  literature  at  first  addressed  believers,  and 


^Handbuch  der  theol.  Wissenschaften.  Supplement  Volume.  A  His- 
tory of  Theol.  Literature.  Nordlingen.  Beck,  1889.  pp.  195.  Val- 
uable c 


184  HTSTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

hence  the  writings  of  the  Apostohc  Fathers  and  the  Homi- 
hsts;  it  next  addressed  the  heathen  world,  hence  the  ap- 
pearance of  apologetic  works.  An  interesting  example  of 
the  first  class,  an  anonymous  Treatise  on  Gambling,  has 
been  discussed  in  a  most  interesting  way  by  Harnack.^  He 
thinks  this  work,  long  bearing  the  name  of  Cyprian,  was 
written  by  Victor  I.  of  Eome,  and  is  consequently  the  oldest 
Avriting  of  a  Eoman  bishop  that  we  have,  the  first  Latin 
Christian  document  from  the  Eoman  Church.  In  any  case,  it 
is  the  oldest  Latin  sermon  that  we  possess ;  and  it  shows  the 
earliest  use  of  Matt,  xvi,  18f.,inEome,  though  the  conscious- 
ness of  episcopal  primacv  is  rather  that  of  high  moral  re- 
sponsibility for  the  flock  entrusted  to  the  bishop,  than  of 
lordly  rule,  Wolfflin  disputes  this  position  of  Harnack^ 
and  puts  the  treatise  later  than  Cyprian,  making  it  depend- 
ent upon  him.  He  thinks  it  was  written  by  some  African 
bishop,  after  A.  D.  250„  Miodonski  thinks^  the  mention  of 
Christians  having  '<  pieces  of  land  and  villas,"  and  the 
gambling  for  large  sums  point  to  Eome  as  the  place  of 
writing.  Perhaps  Bishop  Melchiades  (310),  by  birth  an 
African,  was  its  author.  The  study  of  this  little  treatise 
shows  not  a  few  nominal  Christians  in  the  third,  perlnps 
in  the  second  century,  who  could  not  resist  the  fascination 
of  the  gambling  room.  Think  of  a  Christian  bishop  saying 
to  his  flock,  thus  early,  ''  it  even  happens  that  those  play- 
ers celebrate  their  orgies  by  night  behind    closed  doors  in 


^Der  Pseudo-Cyprianische  Tractat  De  Aleatorihus  &c.  Leipzig. 
Hinrichs.  1888. 

'^Arcliiv  f.  lateinische  Lexicographie.     Bd.  V.,  j).  487.  f. 

^Anonymiis  adversus  Aleatores;  with  German  translation  and 
notes.     Leipzig.    Deichert,  M.  2.     A  handy  book  for  the  student. 


THE    EARLT   CHURCH.  185 

the  company  of  vile  women!"  We  learn  incidentally  that 
every  gambler  before  playing  must  sacrifice  to  Palamedes, 
the  inventor  of  gaming. 

The  oldest  homilies,  after  those  of  Origen,  which  we 
possess,  are  from  the  Persian  Aphraates,  who  wrote  A.  D. 
337-34-5.  Wright  published  the  Syriac  text,  in  1869;  now 
we  receive  a  full  German  translation.^  This  work  sheds 
not  a  little  light  upon  the  Syrian  Church  at  a  critical  period, 
just  as  it  was  passing  over  to  become  the  imperial  Church. 
The  appeal  was  being  made  to  all  classes,  to  leaven  cul- 
ture with  Christianity,  and  oppose  the  wide-spread  corrup- 
tion of  the  Empire.  AVe  see  church  life  here  as  it  went  on 
far  from  the  theological  controversies  that  vexed  the  Church 
elsewhere,  but  also  as  it  was  approaching  that  of  the  West- 
ern Church.  We  observe  in  the  church  of  East  Syria  and 
Persia  growing  sympathy  with  the  Christians  in  the  Roman 
Empire,  which  had  now  become  Christian.  We  hear  of 
persecution  of  these  Persian  Christians  because  their  gov- 
ernment regarded  such  sympathy  as  treason.  We  see 
Easter  and  other  seasons  observed  here  in  a  way  con- 
demned by  Church  Councils  in  the  West.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Peshito  text  appears  assimilated  to  that  of  the  Greek 
Bible ;  the  Catholic  Scriptures  are  substituted  for  those  of 
the  East  Syrian  Church,  that  is,  the  Four  Gospels  put  in  the 
place  of  Tatian's  Diatessaron  and  the  Catholic  Epis- 
tles and  Apocalypse  added  to  their  New  Testament  Canon  : 
also,  the  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  avoids  the  allegorical 
excesses  of  the  Western  Church.  Such  men  as  Aphraates, 
trained  in  connection  with  the  Jewish  colleges  in  Eastern 


^BQvt,  in  Tcxte  unci   UntersKchungen.     Edited  by  Gel)liardt  &  Har- 
nack.     Bd.  Ill,  1888. 


186  HISTORICAL    TlIEOLOCrY. 

Syria,  started  a  school  of  thought,  opposed  to  the  allegori- 
cal learning  of  Origen  and  his  followers,  which  found  a.  con- 
tinuation in  the  school  of  Antioch. 

A  further  contribution  to  the  early  literature  of  the 
Church  are  the  Acts  of  three  martyrs,  published  by  Har- 
nack.^  It  is  a  work  of  the  time  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  and 
reflects  the  Christian  thought  of  those  days.  It  quotes 
Luke  xiv,  1.5,  thus:  *' Blessed  is  he  that  shall  set  a  din- 
ner," etc.,  reading  apiazov  not  «/>rov,  as  most  critics  pre- 
fer. Its  only  formula  of  quotation  is  "  according  to  the 
divine  remembrance  of  the  Lord'' ;  and  this,  Harnack  says, 
"  correspends  exactly  to  the  degree  of  the  New  Testament 
Canon,  as  it  was  taking  shape  about  A.  D.  165."  It  de- 
scribes Agathonike  becoming  a  martyr  because  Karpus  at 
the  stake  saw  a  vision  and  died  in  great  joy;  she  "  stand- 
ing by  and  seeing  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  which  Karpus  said 
he  had  seen,  and  knowing  the  call  to  be  from  Heaven, 
straightway  cried  out  '  This  dinner  hast  thou  prepared  for 
me,  I  must  share  the  eating  of  this  glorious  dinner.'  "  We 
have  here  the  most  vivid  picture  yet  given  in  early  litera- 
ature  of  the  joys  of  Heaven  as  a  Feast,  and  pointing,  with 
the  voluntary  death  of  the  woman,  to  the  influences  at 
work  in  xAsia  Minor  to  produce  Montanism.  In  fact,  these 
Acts  say  that  Papylus  was  from  Thyatira,  a  city  in  which, 
in  the  time  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  Montanism  wholly  pre- 
vailed. He  says  of  himself,  "I  speak  the  truth;  in  every 
province  and  city  there  are  my  children  in  God,"  pointing, 
very  likely,  to  his  work  as  a  travelling  Evangelist,  or 
Prophet.     Although  he  belonged  to  Thyatira,  his  work  was 


'^Texteu.  Untersuckunf/tn.     Bd.  Ill,  4. 


Till-:  i-^ARLY  (iii-ncn.  1.^7 

at  large.  Such  men  remind  us  of  the  apostohc  men  men- 
tioned in  the  Did  ache. 

The  other  cdass  of  early  Christian  literature,  the  Apol- 
ogetic, had  two  kinds  of  critics  in  view,  the  Pagan  and  the 
.Jewish.  We  have  from  Justin,  the  Father  of  Apologetics, 
his  writing  addressed  to  Antoninus  Pius,  and  his  Dialogue 
with  Trypho,  the  Jew.  These  works  had  many  successors, 
of  which  especially  those  intended  for  Jews  have  received 
little  attention;  hence  the  monograph  of  McGiffert,  pub- 
lishing for  the  first  time  one  of  the  treatises  addressed  to 
Hebrews,  is  of  interest.^  The  work  here  given  is  not 
very  important.  It  was  written  about  A.  D.  700,  probably 
in  Egypt.  The  Jew  asks  why  Christians  pray  to  pictures. 
The  Christian  says  they  pray  to  Christ  beyond  the  pictures. 
The  Jew  calls  it  blasphemy  to  say  God  has  a  Son.  In 
reply  the  Christian  quotes  the  Old  Testament,  especially 
Ps.  ii,  7,  to  show  that  Christ  is  Divine.  He  then  argues 
further  from  the  spread  of  Christianity,  as  compared  with 
Judaism,  to  show  that  God  must  be  in  it.  He  finally 
answers  the  objection  that  Jesus  Christ  was  not  foretold  by 
the  prophets.  He  says  if  the  prophets  had  said  openly  that 
Christ  would  abolish  the  Jewish  ritua],  they  would  have 
been  stoned,  and  their  books  burned.  He  asks  in  reply 
why,  if  Jesus  were  a  false  Messiah,  the  prophets  uttered 
no  word  of  prediction  of  such  a  terrible  thing  in  Israel. 

Beyond  svich  writings  as  those  of  Apostolic  Fathers  and 
Apologists,  the  early  Church  must  soon  produce  still  a 
third  class  of  works,  polemic  treatises  against  Christian 
teachers    of    false    doctrine.       Irenaeus    and    TertuUian 


^Dialogue  between  a  Christian  and  a  Jew.     Greek  Text  with  Intro- 
duction and  Notes.     The  Christian  Literature  Co.  New  York,    1889. 


188  IIISTOBICAL    THEOLOGY. 

entered  the  lists  against  Gnostics  and  Monarchians,  and 
the  bitter  battle  of  the  theologians  began.  Among  other 
writers  of  this  sort  Eusebius  refers  to  Cains,  a  Eoman 
scholar  of  the  early  part  of  the  third  century,  as  author  of 
a  Dialogue  against  Proelus,  a  Montanist  of  Eome.  That 
is  about  all  we  know  of  Caius.  But  recently  Gwynn  has 
found  in  a  Syrian  manuscript  in  London  opinions  of  Caius 
quoted,  and  answered  at  length  by  Hippolytus,  his  Roman 
contemporary^.  These  are  called  Capita  Hippolyti  adver- 
sus  Caium.  We  learn  of  them  through  the  Theolor/ische 
Litef^aturzeifung,'-^  in  which  Harnack  adds  the  following  in- 
formation about  Caius.  He  wrote  the  work  cited  by  Eu- 
sebius, against  Proelus,  in  which  he  rejected  the  Apoca- 
lypse of  John,  because  he  could  not  harmonize  its  eschatol- 
ogical  prophecies  with  the  Scriptures  and  Paul.  From 
the  words  of  Caius,  ''as  it  is  Avritten  "  and  "  Paul  says  ", 
Harnack  infers,  rather  precariously,  that  in  the  time  of 
Caius  '-Paul  and  the  Scriptures  were  still  sharply  distin- 
guished in  the  Roman  Church. "  Caius  agreed  with  the 
Alogi  in  rejecting  the  Apocalypse,  but  accepted  the  Gospel 
of  John.  We  learn  also  from  this  new  source  that  we  are 
not  to  interpret  Eusebius  iii,  28,  2  as  saying  that  Caius 
ascribed  the  Apocalypse  to  Cerinthus.  Hippolytus  really 
wrote  against  Caius,  and  answered  also  all  the  errors  of  the 
Alogi.  These  fragments  of  Hippolytus  so  agree  with  what 
Epiphanius  says  of  the  Alogi  (c.  31)  that  it  is  very  likely 
he  used  for  his  attack  the  material  of  Hippolytus.  That 
was  not  an  uncommon  thing  amongst  these  early 
wa'iters.     They  not    only   at   times    published   their    own 

^Hippolytus  and  his  "Heads  against  Cains.  '"Dublin,  1888.  21  pp. 
-  1888,  No.  26. 


THE   EARLY    ('IlUliCIl.  189 

thoughts  under  some  honored  name,  but  they  pubhshed 
other  men's  thoughts  and  information  without  acknowl- 
edgement, under  their  own  name. 

It  was  only  an  extension  of  this  principle  to  take  Jewish 
or  heathen  writings,  and  by  giving  them  a  Christian  color- 
ing make  them  part  and  parcel  of  the  Church's  posses- 
sion. We  know  what  a  mass  of  heathen  tradition  in  this 
way  crept  into  the  monasteries  and  received  the  stamp  of 
Christian  currency.  A  recent  study  of  Amelineau^  shows 
that  monkish  stories,  told  now  in  Egypt,  were  told  in  that 
land  in  the  fourth  century ;  nay,  he  goes  further  and  makes 
it  probable  that  they  are  the  working  over  of  heathen  ro- 
mances of  three  thousand  years  ago.  These  stories  of  the 
ancient  Egyptians  were  read  by  Coptic  monks,  as  the 
llomance  of  Satni,  found  in  the  tomb  of  a  Christian  monk, 
clearly  shows. 


^Monuments  pour  servir  a  Vhistoire  de  VEfn/pte  Chretienne  aux  IVe 
€t  Vc  Siecles.     Paris.  Leronx.  1888.     Fr.  18. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

THE  CHUKCH  OF  THE  MIDDLE  AGES. 
I.       HISTORY    OF    THE    PAPACY. 

Gregory  the  Great  has  been  called  the  last  of  the  Fathers 
and  the  first  of  the  Popes,  for  with  him  "d.  604:  the  bishop 
of  Eome  was  led  to  turn  from  the  Emperor  towards  some 
Western  ruler,  and  seek  an  independent  position  between 
conflicling  civil  lords.  The  thoughts  of  papal  supremacy, 
which  occurred  to  Gregory,  came  forth  in  Papal  action  in 
the  next  century,  when  confusion  and  war  led  Pope  Stephen 
III.  to  offer  Pippin  of  France  the  title  of  Patrician  of  the 
Eomans.  Freeman  says^  ''there  is  no  time  in  the  historj- 
of  the  world  of  which  it  is  harder  to  grasp  the  true  under- 
standing than  the  history  of  Italy  in  the  eighth  century." 
The  reason  is  largely  because  we  have  been  taught  to  re- 
gard the  end  of  the  Western  Empire  as  fixed  A.  D.  476; 
whereas  the  undivided  Eoman  Empire,  he  holds,  continued 
from  476  to  800  A.  D.  He  sums  up,  what  will  "sound  in 
many  ears  as  an  impossible  paradox,"  thus  :  "When  Pope 
Stephen  the  Third  bestowed  the  title  of  Patrician  of  the 
Eomans  on  Pippin  king  of  the  Franks,  he  did  it  by  author- 
ity of  the  reigning  Emperor,  Constantine  Kopronymos,  and 
in  the  character  of  his  ambassador."     It  is   also  true  that 


The  Patriciate  of  Pippin,   in  The  English  Hist }Review.  Oct.  1889. 


THE    CliriU'II    OF    THE    MIDDLE   AGES.  191 

Stephen  had  no  idea  that  Pippin  wouhl  act  as  an  imperial 
officer.  The  Pope  deceived  the  Emperor.  The  Imperial 
pohey  was  ohviously  to  keep  the  shadow  of  authority,  and 
appoint  Pippin  Patrician,  rather  than  lose  all  control  in  the 
West.  The  Empire  had  long  followed  such  methods.  Be- 
sides, Pippin  was  friendly  to  the  Emperor,  while  Aistulf,  the 
Lombard  ruler,  w^as  hostile.  Diehlurges^  that  in  the  time  of 
the  Exarchate  (575-751),  the  Emperor  had  more  power  in 
Italy  than  has  been  usually  represented  iiiEome.  He  also 
points  out  that  the  bishop  of  Rome  not  only  increased  his 
power  as  the  Empire  weakened,  but  hastened  its  decay  by 
his  increasing  power. 

What  the  influences  were  that  carried  the  Papacy  more 
and  more  towards  the  Germanic  Princes  can  be  well  traced 
in  a  recent  study  of  Gregory  II.-  He  was  educated  in  a 
school  in  the  palace  of  Pope  Sergius  [d.  701].  x\s  a  young 
sub-deacon  he  was  given  charge  of  the  papal  library.  He 
w^ent  [710  with  Pope  Constantine  to  visit  the  Emperor  in 
Nicaea.  In  715,  he  became  pope,  the  first  Itahan  pope, 
after  'seven  foreign  pontiffs,  since  Benedict  11.  His  first 
work,  as  pope,  was  to  begin  to  restore  the  walls  of  Rome,  as 
a  defence  against  the  Lombards.  He  also  set  himself  to 
repair  churches  and  cloisters.  The  famous  monastery  of 
Monte  Casino,  the  home  of  Benedict,  had  been  110  years 
in  ruins.  In  716,  Gregory  received  Tlieodo  II,  Duke  of 
Bavaria,  the  first  Bavarian  ruler  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
Rome.  We  see  also  Corbinian,  the  anchorite  bishop  of 
Freisingen,  in  Bavaria,  visit  him  twice.  He  made  Boniface, 


^Etudes  sur  Vadmi/iistratioH  byzanthie  dans  VExarchat  de  Ravennc. 
Thorin:  Paris.     1889. 

-Dahmen;  Das  Pontifikat  Gngors  II,     Diisseldorf.     1888. 


192  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  apostle  of  Germanj^  "bishop  for  his  work  of  Eomaniz- 
ing  Germany."  The  pope  was  still  but  one  great  bishop 
among  others ;  but  he  was  reaching  out  towards  supreme 
sway.  We  hear  of  the  bishops  of  Aquileia  and  Grado  be- 
ing then  called  Patriarchs,  one  under  the  Lombards,  the 
other  under  the  Empire.  But  we  hear  also  of  the  English 
king,  Ina,  abdicating  and  coming  ^726^  to  Eome  as  a  pil- 
grim. Here  he  started  a  school  and  home  for  English  stu- 
dents and  pilgrims.  Gregory  saw  the  fierce  Iconoclastic 
Controversy  rage  in  the  East,  which  weakened  the  Imperial 
power,  and  gave  the  Papacy  new  claims  to  monarchical 
rights.  Pveligious  uniformity  was  the  policy  of  the  Emperor 
Leo ;  hence  he  ordered  Jews,  Montanists  and  worshippers 
of  images,  all  to  observe  the  prescribed  worship.  The  Jews 
pretended  to  obey.  The  Montanists,  on  the  day  set  for 
their  baptism,  burnt  themselves  and  their  churches  together. 
The  edict  against  pictures  in  Italian  churches  led  Gregory 
to  oppose  Leo  and  preach  Eevolution  in  the  West.  But 
Dahmen  holds  the  charges  of  disloyalty,  stopping  Italian 
tribute  due  the  Emperor,  separating  the  West  from  the 
Empire,  and  excommunicating  Leo  for  his  edict  are  ground- 
less. Whether  intentional,  however,  or  not,  the  bishops 
of  Piome  must  follow  the  current  of  events,  which  was  bear- 
ing then  towards  closer  relations  wath  the  chief  monarch  in 
the  West.  K  generation  after  Gregory  IE,  the  spurious 
Donatio  Consfantini  arose,  claiming  that  Constantine  actu- 
ally left  the  West  and  made  Constantinople  his  capital, 
that  the  pope  might  be  free  to  do  as  he  pleased  in  Kome. 
This  forgery  has  been  put  by  most  historians  in  Eome, 
as    birth-place,     and     the     years    752-774    as    time    of 


THE    CIIVRCII    OF    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  10:^ 

origin;  now  Friedricli^  tinds  this  Donation  used  in 
a  letter  of  Hadrian  I,  of  A.  D.  785,  to  the  Emperor 
Constantine.  He  distinguishes  two  parts  in  the 
gift,  an  older,  written  about  653,  and  giving  the  pope 
the  Lateran  palace  and  the  city  of  Kome,  and  a  later,  writ- 
ten shortly  before  754,  by  Paul  I,  as  deacon,  giving  him 
the  whole  West.  Some  critics  of  Friedrich's  book  doubt  if 
two  parts  can  be  distinguished  in  the  Donatio?  But  all 
agree  that  here  a  position  is  claimed  for  the  pope,  in  the 
West,  like  that  occupied  by  the  Emperor  in  the  East. 
Christ  is  the  "heavenly  Emperor"  and  the  bishop  of  Eome 
is  his  representative.  Constantine  offers  him  a  golden 
crown  like  his  own,  but  the  Pope  declines  it  for  his  tonsured 
head;  he  accepts,  however,  the  imperial  pallium,  "af?  'nui- 
tationem  imperii  nostril 

In  any  case,  we  stand  here  in  a  time  of  transition  for  the 
bishop  of  Piome.  It  is  very  significant  that  Hadrian  I,  con- 
nected with  whose  letters  Friedrich  finds  the  gift  of  Con- 
stantine, dated  his  letters  from  A.  D  781  on,  not  after  the 
years  of  the  reign  of  the  Greek  Emperor,  but  after  the  years 
of  his  own  pontificate. 

It  is  also  very  instructive  to  learn  that  Leo  III  changed 
this  style  when  Charlemagne  became  Emperor  of  the  West, 
A.  D.  800,  and  dated  decrees  after  the  reign  of  Charles. 
The  Papacy  climbed  to  power  on  the  framework  of  the 
German  Empire.  Hence  the  key  to  the  life  of  the  great 
Pope  Sylvester  II,  once  Gerbert,.  has  been  found  in  his. 
unshaken  fidelity  to  the  Emperor  Otto.^    It  was  a  beautiful 


^Die  Constant ims(  he  Schenkung .     Nordlingen:  Beck.     1880.    M.  5. 
^Cf.     Seeberg.     Theol.  Liter aturhlatt.     189t),     Nos.  3,  4, 5. 
'Cf.    Lettres   de  Gerbert,   by   Havet,   in    Collection  tie   te.vtes  pour 
fiiervir  d  V etude  et  a  Venseignement  de  Vhistoire.  Paris.  1889. 


194  mSTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

dream  of  Otto,  that  he  and  Sylvester  should  rule  the 
Empire  from  Eome,  the  one  as  temporal,  the  other  as 
spiritual  head.  But  the  question  soon  arose  as  to  who 
should  define  the  limits  of  authority,  and,  in  case  of  con- 
flict, who  should  yield.  A  classical  illustration  of  such 
conflict  is  the  famous  case  of  Henry  lY  and  Gregory  YII. 
A  recent  treatise'^  brings  into  prominence  the  activity  of  the 
rival  Imperial  Pope,  Clement  III,  as  leader  of  a  party, 
long  before  he  became  Pope.  As  Wibert,  Archbishop  of 
Piavenna,  and  for  a  time  made  Chancellor  of  Italy  by  the 
Empress  Agnes,  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Lom- 
bard bishops  in  opposition  to  the  reform  measures  of  Gregory. 
When  Henry  submitted  to  the  Pope  at  Canossa,  Wibert 
and  the  Lombards  made  the  Emperor  break  his  disgrace- 
ful promise.  They  agreed  w^ith  the  Council  of  Worms, 
which  declared  Gregory  deposed.  Gregory's  Council  then 
declared  them  excommunicated  for  conspiracy.  Wibert 
and  his  men  then  put  Gregory  under  the  ban.  So  the 
struggle  went  on  till  Wibert  was  chosen  rival  Pope, 
in  1080,  as  Clement  III.  In  spite  of  Gregory,  he 
held  his  place  as  Archbishop  of  Piavenna,  and  when 
Henry  besieged  Eome,  1082,  Clement  was  with  the  army, 
entering  the  city  as  Imperial  Pope,  1084.  He  fought  wath 
Victor  III  for  possession  of  Eome.  Then,  with  Urban  II, 
the  Papacy  exchanged  the  policy  of  force,  advocated  by 
Gregory  VII,  for  a  milder  method,  in  which  "everything 
proceeded  in  the  name  of  Christ  and  association  with 
Christ  and  the  cross.-  Under  this  policy  the  first  Crusade 
started,  which  threw  Clement  into  the  shade.     He  shared 


Kohncke,  Wibert  von  Ravenna.  Leipzig.  1888. 

Moffat,  Papers  ofAmer.  Soc.  of  Church  Hist.  Vol.  I,  1889. 


THE    C II rue II    OF    THE    middle    ages.  195 

the  hardships  of  Henry  in  north  Italy,  for  in  1093  Urban 
entered  Eome.  In  1097,  Henry  could  return  to  Germany, 
and  Clement  go  back  to  Ravenna.  Two  years  later,  he 
could  enter  Rome,  and  hold  part  of  it  against  Urban.  He 
died,  1100,  and  wonders  were  wrought  at  his  tomb,  till 
1106,  when  Paschal  II  put  an  end  to  the  miracles  in  favor 
of  an  Anti-Pope  by  casting  his  body  into  the  Tiber.  This 
whole  struggle  between  rival  Popes  is  a  conflict  between 
the  traditional  Papal  methods,  which  bound  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  to  the  Emperor,  and  the  ideas  of  the  Gregorian  party, 
that  sought  to  free  the  Papacy  from  Imperial  control. 
The  reform  Popes  must  break  away  from  national  entangle- 
ments in  their  efforts  for  religious  improvement.  The 
Exile  of  the  Papacy  in  France  wrought  so  great  evil  just 
because  it  brought  the  Pope  into  the  power  of  a  single  king. 
A'recent  study^  shows  that  at  first  Clement  VI,  who  w^as 
born  in  an  English  Province  in  France,  sided  w^ith  the  king 
of  England  against  the  king  of  France.  He  entered  Bor- 
deaux escorted  by  troops  in  the  pay  of  England.  He  re- 
ceived as  presents  from  the  king  of  England  twenty  tuns 
of  wine,  twenty  oxen,  twenty  hogs,  a  cross  of  gold  and  other 
things.  The  English  governor  protected  him  on  his  way 
to  Lyons,  where  he  was  to  be  crowned.  After  he  trans- 
ferred the  Papal  seat  to  Avignon  (1309)  he  came  under 
the  power  of  the  king  of  France,  to  please  whom  he  de- 
stroyed the  Order  of  Templars.^  Other  grave  questions, 
concerning  the  Holy  Land  and  Church  Reform,  also  deman- 
ded solution,  so  Clement  called,  in  1311,  a  General  Council  in 


^    Cf.  Revue  Historique,  May-June,  1889.  pp.  481". 

-  See  Prntz,  Entwickelung  v.  Untergang  des  Tempelherrenordens 
Berlin.  1888. 


196  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Vienna.  Only  fragments  of  the  Acts  of  this  Council  are 
known,  hence  the  discovery  by  Ehiie  of  53  pages  more 
of  its  Kecords  is  very  welcome.^  The  Bishops  were  ar- 
ranged, we  learn,  according  to  nations, — French,  Spanish 
British,  German,  Danish,  Italian.  The  Irish  and  Scotch 
were  classed  together.  The  prelates  proposed  to  take  up, 
first,  matters  of  complaint,  and,  then,  matters  of  morals. 
Matters  of  complaint  meant  especially  wrongs  suffered  from 
temporal  lords.  These  were  heard  at  length.  The  Scotch 
bishops  complained  that  on  every  pretext  their  property 
was  given  to  royal  favorites.  The  Irish  said  that  "before 
the  invasion  of  the  English,  their  Church  recognized  no 
superior  in  temporal  things,  but  exercised  both  spiritual 
and  temporal  jurisdiction."  The  English  king  promised  to 
res])ect  the  rights  of  the  Irish  Church  but  "gradually  he 
usurped  places,  things,  rights  and  jurisdiction."  All 
church  authorities  were  compelled  to  account  to  civil 
judges.  The  clergy  were  so  maltreated  that  many  fled  to 
deserts    and    caves  for  safety. 

The  English  complained  that  the  Church  must  hand 
over  clerical  criminals  to  the  ^civil  court.  If  the  jury 
found  them  guilty  they  were  put  to  death,  unless  the 
bishops  demanded  them,  in  which  case  the  State  seized 
the  goods  of  those  condemned.  If  the  criminal  escaped 
with  church  punishment,  the  king  exacted  a  fine  of  i^'lOO. 

Especially  in  France,  do  w^e  see  the  State  resist- 
ing the  growing  power  of  the  Church,  in  behalf  of  law 
and  order.  Under  Boniface  VIII  and  Philip  the  Fair, 
this  conflict  reached  a  crisis,  and  the  Church  summed  up 


^  Archiv  f.  Lit.  a.  Kirdiengeschlchte  d.    Mittelalters.  Bd.  IV,  H.  -i 

1888. 


THE    CHURCH    OF    THE    MIDDLE    AGES.  197 

its  complaints  against  the  State.  We  have  that  summary 
in  the  fragment  of  the  Acts  of  the  Council  given  by  Ehrle. 
The  Church  bases  its  claim  here  on  various  legal  rights, 
to  which  it  expressly  appeals.  On  this  ground  it  opposed 
the  State;  but  the  struggle  was  not  very  severe,  for  just 
then  the  king  of  France, was  centralizing  the  royal  power, 
and  had  to  meet  much  civil  opposition  also.  The  Church, 
with  its  estates,  appeared  in  many  ways  like  one  of  the 
duchies  of  France  resisting  the  autocracy  of  the  monarch. 
How  far  the  Papal  Court  had  become  as  those  of  kings  and 
dukes  appears  from  the  Will  of  Clement  and  the  litigation 
about  it  under  John  XXII.  ^  The  fortune  of  Clement  had 
disappeared,  and  John  called  upon  the  late  Pope's  nephew 
to  come  and  explain.  It  was  found  that  Clement  left 
814,000  gold  guldens,  of  which  300,000  were  for  a  crusade, 
314,000  were  to  be  given  to  Clement's  servants  and  rela- 
tives, the  remaining  200,000  w^ere  for  the  poor,  churches, 
and  monasteries  for  the  good  of  the  Pope's  soul.  In  1313, 
320,000  guldens  had  been  loaned  the  kings  of  France  and 
England;  the  160,000  loaned  Philip  the  Fair  were  never 
paid  back.  Clement  died  in  1314,  and  his  nephew^  spent 
50,000  guldens  building  a  sarcophagus  for  him.  This  new 
information  but  confirms  the  charge  of  nepotism  brought 
against  Clement.  This  money  which  he  gave  to  his  re- 
latives was  church  funds.  He  left  for  his  successor  only 
70,000  guldens,  about  $140,000,  or  less  than  one  tenth  of 
what  was  in  the  treasury.  But  in  this,  Ehrle  says,  Cle- 
ment acted  just  as  all  rulers  did  in  those  days.  It  cost 
the  Papal  Court  about  $200,000   a  year  to  live;  but  the 


'Cf.  Ehrle,  I.  c.  Bel.  V.,  H.  I.,  1889. 


198  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Pope's  income  was  fully  double  that  amount.  Henne  he  left 
a  fortune  of  over  $2,000,000.  In  this  connection,  Ehrle^ 
says  that  the  usual  statement,  that  John  XXII  left  an 
estate  of  $50,000,000,  is  absurd.  Account  books  of  the 
Papacy  show  that  he  could  not  have  had  more  than  Cle- 
ment III. 

The  sojourn  of  the  Popes  in  France  wrought  great  de- 
moralization ;  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  return  to  Eome 
would  be  marked  by  improvement :  but  the  return  to  Piome 
was  followed  by  the  Papal  Schism,  which  shook  all  moral 
foundations,  for  the  unity  of  the  Church,  upon  which  all 
faith  rested,  was  built  upon  the  Papacy,  and  now  rival 
Popes  rent  the  Church  assunder.'-  Out  of  this  war  of 
Pontiffs  came  disease  and  death  for  every  lovely  and  vir- 
tuous thing  in  Christendom.  From  MS.  sources  we  hear 
in  deeper  refrain  than  before  the  lamentations  over  the 
corruption  in  the  distracted  Church.  Respect  for  Popes 
and  cardinals  sadly  waned  at  the  sight  of  evils  unchecked. 
One  writer  says,  "  Cardinals  are  not  to  be  regarded  as 
bishops,  priests  and  others,  for  in  the  Bible  there  is  no 
mention  of  cardinals.  They  have  only  by  accident  the  right 
to  elect  a  Pope,  aright  which  can  be  transferred  to  Em- 
perors and  bishops."  He  is  ''  the  true  Pope,  who  most 
feels  the  misery  of  the  Church;  that  is  the  test."  Henry 
of  Langenstein,  here  quoted,  holds  that  the  Church  Uni- 
versal has  the  right  to  choose  the  Pope.     It    may    entrust 


Ub.  Bd.  v.,  H.  4,  1889. 

^Cf.  Scheuffgen,  Beitrdgt  su  der  Geschichte  dea  grossen  Sc/iisinas. 
Freiburg  i.  B.     Herder  1889.  M.  2. 

See,  in  general,  the  valuable  compilation  of  Mas  Latrie,  Trimr 
de  Chronologie,  d'Histoire  et  de  Geographie,  pour  I'elude  et  Vtmploi 
des  Documents  du  Moyen  Age.     Folio.  Paris,  1889. 


Till-:  CHURCH  OF  the  mjddli-:  ages.         199 

this  right  in  ordinary  cases  to  cardinals  ;  but  now  a  crisis 
had  come,  "  the  bishop  does  not  hve  m  his  diocese,  he  and 
his  priests  are  in  the  theatre,  ih:  clergy  are  peddlers  and 
merchants,  the  prelates  believe  in  Pagan  superstition,  con- 
sult fortune-tellers,  and  observe  the  stars,  the  priests  do 
not  attend  mass  on  Sundays,  nor  fast,  none  of  the  clergy 
study  the  Bible,  they  lead  immoral  lives  andvisit  taverns"  ; 
lience  now  a  time  had  come,  he  urges,  when  a  General 
Council  should  elect  the  Pope.  Conrad  of  Gelnhausen 
(13S0)  also  pleads  for  a  Council,  saying  if  the  early  Popes, 
had  been  as  proud  as  those  of  the  Schism  they  would  be 
then  in  Hell  wifh  Lucifer,  rather  than  in  Heaven.  Henry 
and  Conrad  here  express  thoughts  that  were  fermenting  in 
the  University  of  Paris,  and  preparing  the  way  for  the  first 
Pieform  Council  in  Pisa,  1-1:09,  which  declared  a  Council 
al)ove  a  Pope,  and  deposed  the  warring  pontiffs.  The  long 
struggle  had  begun  between  the  autocratic  Pope  and  a 
General  Synod,  representing  the  body  of  believers,  a  strug- 
gle which  should  end  in  the  Protestant  Eevolution,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  dogma  of  Papal  Infallibility,  on  the 
other. 

II.       THE  EASTERN  CHURCH. 

The  history  of  the  Eastern  Church,  after  the  fourth  cen- 
tury, is  a  field  too  much  neglected  by  many  students.  A 
recent  article^  on  the  religious  life  of  Alexandria,  just 
before  the  Mohammedan  invasion,  as  set  forth  in  the  biog- 
raphy of  St.  John  of  Alexandria,  by  Leontius,  touches 
many    interesting  phases    of  this    Oriental    Church    life. 


iGelzer,  in  Historische  Zeitschrift,  1889.  H.  I. 


^30  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Looking  back  to  the  fourth  century,  much  intellectual  ac- 
tivity is  still  found  in  Alexandria.  The  philosophers  still 
discussed  theological  problems,  and  the  race  of  Rhetor- 
icians and  Sophists  was  not  yet  extinct.  Zachariah  of 
Mytilene  opposed  the  theory  of  the  eternity  of  the  world, 
and  the  monk  Kosmas  tried  to  show  that  the  earth  must 
be  shaped  like  a  four-cornered  box ;  though  he  was  sorry  to 
see  that  his  orthodox  friends  still  held  to  the  heathen  idea 
that  it  was  round.  The  ancient  prophets,  soothsayers  and 
necromancers  reappeared  among  the  monks,  and  the  Em- 
peror Theodosius,  Avho  had  destroyed  heathen  temples, 
asked  through  an  embassy,  before  the  battle  with  Maximus, 
an  Egyptian  hermit  about  the  result.  The  anchorite  fore- 
told rightly  a  great  victory  for  him  on  Italian  soil  [389. 
In  the  fifth  century,  Alexandria  partly  lost  its  cosmopolitan 
character,  because  in  theological  matters  it  took  a  separate, 
national  position.  In  defending  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  the 
theologians  here  lost  his  Humanity" ;  the  Council  of  Chal- 
cedon  was  rejected;  and  Leo  the  Great  of  Rome  called  a 
coarse  heretic.  The  Emperor  Justinian  first  forced  an 
orthodox  Patriarch  upon  the  Monophysite  Church  of  Egypt 
by  soldiers ;  the  result  was  that  two  churches  arose,  which 
Gelzer  compares  to  the  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic 
churches  in  Ireland,  in  the  last  century :  the  Established 
Church,  supported  by  the  State,  yet  w^eak,  while  the  true 
National  Church,  in  the  one  case,  the  Catholic,  in  the  other, 
the  Coptic,  was  ignored.  The  imperial  Patriarch  ruled  in 
Alexandria  over  courtiers,  nobles,  and  time-servers ;  the 
national  Patriarch,  chosen  in  the  secret  places  of  the  desert, 
was  recognized  b}^  the  people.  Of  course  the  conflict 
between  the  ruling  Greek  and  the  ruled  Copt  added  much 


THE    ClirRCJI    OF    THE    MI])I)LE    AGES.  201 

ntensity  to  tlie  strife  between  the    orthodox    Imperiahst 
and  the  ^lonophysite  Egyptian. 

The  Patriarch  John  the  Pitiful,  who  was  over  Alexan- 
dria, 609-016,  showed  himself  the  typical  good  man  of 
those  days  by  indiscriminate  alms-giving.  His  warm  heart 
also  introduced  order  into  public  worship.  The  people, 
tired  of  the  Jong  liturgy,  used  to  leave  the  church  during 
the  reading  of  the  gospel.  One  day  the  patriarch  left,  too, 
and  stood  among  the  people  talking  outside.  They  were 
much  embarrassed  at  his  presence,  but  he  said  "Children 
where  the  llock  is  there  also  is  the  shepherd."  Thus  he 
stopped  the  evil.  John's  piety  was  so  marked  that  he  was 
made  Patriarch  while  still  a  layman,  and  also  married. 
This  was  a  great  tribute  to  his  cliaracter,  for  it  was  then 
the  custom  in  the  East  to  fill  sach  high  places  with  monks. 
John  was  not  under  monkish  control,  yet  he  protected 
monks  good  and  bad,  just  as  he  gave  to  the  poor.  So  he 
sought  "to  realize  a  purely  Biblical  Christianity  of  self- 
sacrificing  love." 

The  extreme  type  of  the  monkish  devotee  appears 
in  St.  Simeon  of  Eme?a,  also  presented  by  Gelzer. 
He  is  a  fanatic,  who  would  be  a  fool  for  Christ's 
sake.  Like  the  pillar  saints,  he  appears  as  a  survival  of 
old  Syrian  Paganism,  a  Christian  reproduction  of  Astarte 
worship.  He  shows,  too,  the  common  ground  out  of  which 
such  Christian  saints  and  Mohammedan  fakirs  have  both 
sprung.  Here,  in  Syrian  monasteries,  we  see  also  how 
mother  wit  could  sport  itself  even  under  Pioman  despotism. 
We  learn  incidentally  that  the  common  people  in  Syria, 
in  the  seventh  century,  could  often  read.  An  oil  dealer  is 
spoken  of  as  studying  an  essay  on  the  discovery  of  the  head 


202  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

of  John  the  Baptist.     iVmong  the  higher  ehisses  Greek  cul- 
ture remained  until  swept  away  by  Islam. 

III.       THEOLOGICAL  THOUGHT. 

Sell,  in  speaking^  of  the  Eoman  Church  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  says,  "Augustine  is  its  philosopher  and  its  prophet." 
His  theology  went  into  the  cloister  and  labored  to  give  the 
soul  peace  through  sore  penances.  It  went  into  the  schools 
of  philosophy,  where  the  scholastics  tried  to  prove  their 
apprehension  of  it  by  dialectics.  It  ascended  the  Papal 
throne,  and  humbled  all  men  before  the  sovereignty  of 
God,  then  before  his  vicar,  the  Pope.  This  mediaeval  sys- 
tem of  thought  embraced  in  its  scheme  of  knowledge  the 
present  world  and  the  world  to  come,  and  held  them  to- 
gether by  a  sequence  of  reason,  guaranteed  by  the  Church, 
which  had  transmitted  it.  "The  mouth  of  the  Church 
speaks;  what  she  speaks  is  object  of  faith,  and  is  then 
grasped  by  the  reason  of  the  Church,"  Thus  Augustine  as 
an  ecclesiastic  was  made  to  destroy  Augustine  the  theolo- 
gian. The  drift  of  the  Church  into  the  monastic  system  of 
good  works  was  in  many  respects  inevitably  a  Pelagian 
drift;  hence  lief ormers  in  the  Papal  Church,  from  Gotts- 
chalk  (d.  868)  to  Jansen,  have  preached  a  return  to  the 
doctrines  of  Augustine.  That  was  very  distasteful  to 
worldly  prelates.  In  a  writing  of  Hincmar  against  Gotts- 
chalk,  just  published,^  he  says  that  he  "confounded  God's 
foreknowledge  and  predestination,  and  held  that  the  man 
predestinated  to  punishment  could  not  escape,  no  matter 


^Au8  der  Geschiclite  (les  Christenfhums.     Darmstait.    Waitz.    1! 
-Cf.     Zfft.f.  KircJienf/eschichte.     Bd.  X.  H.  2.    1888. 


TEE    CJIUllCIJ    OF    THE   .MIDDLE   AGES.  203 

liow  iiiucli  good  lie  tried  to  do,  and  no  man  predestinated 
to  glory  could  be  lost,  no  matter  what  evil  he  did."  He 
taught  that  grace  comes  without  our  free  will ;  salvation 
does  not  depend  on  good  works ;  so,  Hincmar  adds,  he 
leads  to  a  ruinous  security.  A  priestly  church  always  op- 
poses assurance  of  faith,  for  it  frees  the  believer  from  sa- 
cerdotal interference.  Gottschalk  taught  also  "that  the 
suffering  of  Christ  was  not  for  the  salvation  of  the  whole 
world,  and  by  the  grace  of  baptism  original  sin  was  not 
taken  away  from  the  non-elect.  All  God's  promises  of 
salvation  were  made  to  the  elect."  Hhicmar  thinks  God 
foresaw  the  Fall  of  Man ;  Init  did  not  create  any  man  to 
be  lost.  He  held  that  man  was  made  to  take  the  place  of 
the  fallen  angels. 

The  theological  thought  of  the  Middle  Ages  had  its  home 
in  Raly  and  France ;  the  theological  thought  of  Modern 
Times,  wdiich  began  with  the  Reformation,  started  from  the 
soil  of  Geroaany  and  England.  The  intellectual  intimacy 
between  these  lands  became,  however,  much  closer  towards 
the  dawn  of  the  Reformation,  and  what  was  fruitful  in  the 
thought  of  the  South  was  carried  by  responsive  hearts  for 
further  development  into  the  freer  North.  From  new  in- 
formation^ about  the  University  of  Bologna  we  see  that  the 
communication  between  Germany  and  Italy  was  very  ac- 
tive in  pre-Reformation  days.-  In  1502,  there  were  50 
German  students  at  the  University  of  Bologna.  We  are 
told  also  that  in  the  far  north  lands  there  was  very  early 
an  atmosphere  favorable  to  free  thinking.  Lindsay  finds^ 
that  the  Scotch  were  from  ancient   times  anxious   that  the 


^Cf.     Zeitschrift  f.  Kirchengeschichfe.     Bd,     X.  H.  3.     188D. 
^Transaciions  of  the  Glasgow  Archaeological  Society.     Vol.  I.  1888. 


204  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

people  should  have  instruction.  Perhaps  similar  desire 
was  present  in  England  and  Scandinavia.  He  thinks  the 
Irish  missionaries  may  have  planted  schools  among  the 
Celto- Saxon  people,  and  so  created  a  thirst  for  knowledge 
greater  than  is  found  in  people  touched  by  other,' civiliza- 
tion and  of  different  pedigree. 


IV.       CHURCH    LIFE. 

As  the  Papal  Church  drew  all  kinds  of  transgressions 
of  law  into  its  jurisdiction,  it  must  do  a  vast  business  of 
forgiveness,  tines,  penances,  and  other  forms  of  discourag- 
ing wrong-doing.  This  subject  receives  interesting  illus- 
tration from  the  "oldest  list  of  fees  of  the  apostolic  peni- 
tentiaries,'' k.  D.  1338.^  The  fees  allowed  papal  secreta- 
ries for  writing  letters  of  absolution  and  dispensation  run 
from  two  to  seventy  pounds,  this  last  being  for  "a  letter 
of  general  absolution  "  in  many  cases,  and  for  a  dispensa- 
tion for  the  whole  Order  of  Cluny.  Among  the  cases 
classified  are  simony,  murder  of  clergy,  citizens  killing  a 
monk  [20  pounds],  wife  murder  [3],  patricide  or  mat- 
ricide [4],  incest,  rape,  perjury  [5],  murderer  coming 
to  the  Pope  for  the  soul  of  the  victim  [3],  for  one  emascu- 
lated [5],  for  a  cleric  mutilated  [Q>],  for  a  converted 
heretic  [4],  for  ignorantly  sheltering  a  heretic  [5],  for 
training  the  children  of  heretics  [4],  for  those  who  car- 
ried wood  to  burn  heretics  [4],  in  case  of  suicide  [4], 
personating  a  priest  [6],  for  sailing  to  Alexandria  against 
the  command  of  the  Pope    [4],  letter  of  absolution  for  one 


^Archivf.  Lit.  u.  k.  Gesc.h.  (\  Mittelalters.     Bd.  IV.  H.  3.  1888. 


THE    ClirRCH    OF    Till-:    MIDDLE    AdES.  20.-) 

going  back  to  a  concubine  4  ,  for  people  of  a  State  who 
had  celebrated  mass  during  an  interdict  [30  to  40j,  for 
monastic  vow  taken  after  marriage  [6",  for  adultery  with 
the  mother  after  marrying  the  daughter  6],  for  marrying 
a  second  time  ,4',  for  entering  an  Order  because  of  in- 
firmity, or  fear  of  imprisonment  [4^,,  for  those  following 
Louis  of  Bavaria  or  an  anti-Pope  [8  . 

This  system  of  dispensation,  in  wdiicli  the  man  with 
money  could  pay  and  the  poor  man  had  to  do  the  penance, 
left  the  door  open  to  all  kinds  of  abuses ;  hence  in  a  quar- 
rel between  some  English  monks  and  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  he  was  called  on  to  explain  why  he  had  ex- 
communicated them  when  he  had  granted  others  the  right 
to  atone  for  part  of  their  faults  by  getting  letters  of  abso- 
lution.^ There  was  one  rule  for  the  clergy  and  another 
for  the  laymen.  The  result  was  that  in  some  respects  the 
priests  became  worse  than  the  people.  The  monasteries 
fell  into  decay,  especially  in  the  fourteenth  century,  some 
improvement  appearing  in  the  next  century. ^ 

The  Papal  Court,  however,  sent  forth  its  pestilential 
influence  right  up  to  the  days  of  Luther.  Such  worldly 
living  must  proceed  from  a  worldly  Church,  and  the  Church 
must  become  more  and  more  worldly  as  its  head,  the  Pope, 
fought  with  Emperor  and  kings  for  a  place  as  one  of  the 
rulers  of  the  earth.  Hence  we  find  the  growing  temporal 
power  of  the  Papacy  opposed  at  every  step  by  earnest 
Christians,  on  the  one  hand,  who  saw  in  it  a  corruption 
of  the  Church,  and  by  political  leaders,  on  the  other,  who 


'Cf.  the  Rolls  Series.     Yearbooks  of  the  Reign  of  Ecbvard  III. 
^Yet,  for  France,   see  Leroux.      Histoire  de  la  Refnrme  dans  la 
Marche  et  le  Limousin.     Limoges,  1888.  * 


206  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY 

considered  it  a  menace  to  civil  liberty.  Bernard  of 
Clairvaux  pleaded  with  his  pupil  Pope  Eugene  III  id.  1153] 
to  reform  the  Curia,  and  Arnold  of  Brescia  drove  this 
pontiff  from  Eome,  in  order  to  restore  the  Kepublic. 
This  was  not  a  sudden  outburst  of  Arnold.  He  just  boldly 
said  what  thousands  thought,^  when  he  appealed  to  the 
Church  to  give  up  its  ill-gotten  gains  and  become  apostolic 
again.  But  the  Papacy  was  too  strong  for  the  Pope,  and 
Eugene  could  not  effect  reforms.  Even  so  great  a  Pope  as 
Innocent  III  could  not  get  beyond  traditional  methods. 
He  made  Philip  of  France  take  back  his  wife,  but  he  did 
so  from  motives  of  papal  policy,  rather  than  because  of 
high  moral  reasons. - 

This  mediaeval  Church  could  arouse  Christen- 
dom to  enter  upon  the  Crusades,  which  sacrificed  mil- 
lions of  money  and  lives;  and  yet  the  fruits  of  those  terri- 
ble campaigns  were  few;  the  Crusades  were  a  failure. 
Dollinger  finds^  the  reason  to  be  the  lack  of  moral  power 
in  the  multitudes  that  rushed  to  Palestine,  the  mistakes  of 
their  leaders,  and,  above  all,  the  weakness  caused  by  the 
conflicts  between  the  Papacy  and  the  nations.  The  idea 
that  Islam  was  the  most  dangerous  foe  of  Christendom  was 
true  and  historic,  but  the  Christendom  that  went  out  to 
vanquish  Islam  failed,  because  it  had  no  gospel  of  genuine 


^Cf.  Stnrmhofel,  Gerhoh  von  Reichensherq  iiber  d.  Sittenzustdnde  d. 
zeitgtndss.  Geistlichkeit.  Leipzig.  1889.  M.  1.  60;  and  Brej^er,  iu 
Hist.  Ztft.     1888.  pp.  121-178. 

'See  Davidsohii.  P/u7/pp  Augru.s^  II  und  Ingeborg.  Stuttgart.  Cotta. 
1888.  M.  4. 

■^Die  oriental.  Frage  in  ihren  Anfiingen.  Akad.  Vortrage.  I.  Nord- 
lingen.  Beck.  1888, 


Tin-:  cnriic/i  of  the  middle  ages.         207 

catliolicity,  no  bond  of  peace,  no  righteousness  of  life,  which 
couki  successfully  compete  with  Mohammechmism. 

And  yet  this  was  also  an  age  of  mission  work.  Otto  of 
Bamberg  was  friend  and  Chancellor  of  Henry  IV,  even  after 
(Gregory  YII  liad  put  the  Eiiperor  under  ban.  He  de- 
tected fraudulent  contractors,  who  were  building  a  church 
at  the  Emperor's  expense  in  Spires  in  honor  of  the  Virgin. 
He  was  a  wise  counsellor,  a  true  German  Churchman.  It 
is  pleasant,  then,  to  see  such  a  man  made  a  prince-bishop 
of  Bamberg  by  Henry,  in  1101.  When  tlie  ring  and  staff 
of  the  dead  bishop  came  to  the  Emperor,  he  overheard 
some  young  men  wondering  why  Henry  would  sell  such  a 
bishopric,  instead  of  giving  it  to  a  man  like  Otto;  just 
what  Henry  intended  to  do.  The  Emperor  said  "many 
mighty  and  high-born  persons  tried  to  buy  the  bish- 
opric." 

But  he  put  all  aside  and  placed  the  mitre  upon  the 
head  of  his  godly  chancellor.  It  is  not  true,  as  often  stated, 
that  Otto  had  already  bee-i  offered  the  sees  of  Augsburg 
and  Halberstadt,  or  that  he  vowed  not  to  accept  Bamberg 
unless  he  were  invested  mto  office  by  papal  authority.^  It 
is  true,  however,  that  Otto  was  a  model  bishop,  that  he  la- 
bored in  the  streets  and  lanes  to  carry  the  gospel  and  its 
comfort  to  the  wretched,  that  he  left  home  and  his  high 
place,  for  more  than  a  year,  to  evangelize  the  heathen  of 
Pomerania,  and  that  over  his  coffin  the  words  were  spoken, 
*' Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy." 
A  former  missionary  to  Pomerania  offended  the  people  by 


^Cf.  Looshorn,  Z)^'/-  lielige.  Bischof  Otto.  Nacli  den  Quelleii  bear- 
beitet.  Munich,  1888,  tlie  700tli  anniversary  of  his  being  declared  a 
Saint. 


208  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

appearing  as  a  beggar  and  presenting  Christianity  in  its 
ascetic  forms.  Otto  avoided  all  such  offenses.  He  ap- 
peared in  Episcopal  pomp.  He  was  a  friend  of  the  Duke, 
at  whose  court  he  had  spent  seven  j^ears,  and  learned  the 
language  of  the  Poles.  As  he  won  converts  in  the  winter 
season,  he  had  them  baptized  in  heated  rooms  and  with 
warm  water.  He  baptized  the  children  himself,  letting  his 
companions  baptize  the  adults.  He  searched  the  hearts  of 
those  coming  into  the  church,  asking  the  once  heathen 
mothers  if  they  had  ever  killed  children,  for  it  was  custom- 
ary to  put  infant  girls  to  death.  On  a  second  missionary 
journey  through  Poland  to  confirm  the  churches,  his  life 
was  attempted  more  than  once  by  the  heathen,  but  he  was 
saved  through  the  constant  prayers  of  the  monks  in  Mi- 
clielsberg  for  him. 

V.       MONASTICISM. 

Eccent  investigation  has  paid  much  attention  to  the 
monastic  activity  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  and  the  energy  of 
Irish  monks,  the  splendid  reform  efforts  that  centered 
in  Cluny,  the  work  of  Bernard  and  his  Cistercians, 
the  literary  labors  of  the  Dominicans,  and  the  loving 
ing  charities  and  free  spirit  of  the  Franciscans  have  all 
shone  forth  with  new  lustre.^  These  monks  were  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Middle  Ages.  Three  kinds  of  missions  may 
be  distinguished ;  those  of  the  early,  the  medigeval,  and  the 
modern  church.  At  first  missionaries  went  out  one  by 
one,  or  two  or  three  together,  caring  for  themselves,  and 


^Cf.,  ill  general,  Kurtz,  Church  History.  Vol.  II.    NeAV  York.     Funk 
&  WagiialLs,  1889.   $2.00. 


THE    Clirh'cri    OF    THE    MfDDLE    AGbJS.  209 

laboring  to  convert  individuals  to  the  gospel.  In  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  the  monkish  missionaries  went  out  in  bands, 
usually  of  twelve,  under  the  lead  of  a  man  of  experience. 
They  built  their  cloister  among  the  heathen,  and  while 
some  cared  for  temporal  things,  the  rest  labored  t©  bring 
the  tribe  to  accept  Christianity.  Very  often  the  Christian 
Emperor  used  his  influence  to  bring  the  heathen  prince  to 
profess  the  faith  of  the  monkish  preachers.  Our  modern 
system  is  that  of  the  Missionary  Society.  The  monastic 
method  has  not  a  few  advantages,  and  as  used,  especially 
by  the  Iro-Scottish  missionaries,  did  valuable  service.  All 
students  are  familiar  with  the  work  of  these  monks  in  the 
conversion  of  the  German  tribes.  Among  others,  Colum- 
banus  and  his  disciples,  the  usual  account  tells  us,  first 
carried  the  gospel  to  the  Allemanni  in  Sw^itzerland.  But 
Heer  now  informs  us^  that  the  Irish  missionary  Fridolin 
brought  the  gospel  to  the  Allemanni,  in  406 ;  more  than 
a  hundred  years  before  Columbanus  went  up  the  Ehine. 
This  tribe  had  just  been  conquered  by  Clovis,  and  the  mis- 
sionary began  to  preach  under  the  protection  of  the 
conqueror.   . 

In  reference  to  the  conversion  of  Wurtemberg,  the 
prevalent  view  is  corrected  in  the  opposite  direction. 
Bossert  says-  its  evangelization  was  not  the  result  of 
desultory  work  by  Iro-Scottish  monks,  neither  was  it  a 
steady  growth ;  it  came  rather  from  a  systematic  effort 
made  by  Clovis  and  his  successors,  anticipating  in  this  the 
I)olicy  of  Charlemagne  with  the  Saxons. 


^ St.  Fridolin,  der  Apostel  Allemanniens,  Zurich:  Schulthess.  Fr. 
1,  1888. 

■Die  Anfdnge  des  Christenthum.'i  in  Wnrfemherrj.  Stuttgart.  1888. 
pp.  35. 


210  HISTOBICAL    THEOLOGY. 

These  monasteries  were  mission  centers,  but  they  also 
became  early  centers  of  literary  and  artistic  eti'ort.  Here, 
too,  belief  in  the  continuation  of  miracles  in  the  Church 
found  most  characteristic  illustrations  and  defenders.  A 
recent  book^  by  a  Catholic  writer  gives  a  very  full  descrip- 
tion of  this  many-sided  cloister  life  in  the  eleventh  century. 

The  work  before  us  is  based  on  the  Life  of  the  Saint 
written  by  Gilon  live  years  after  the  death  of  Abbot  Hugh 
(1109).  Yet  such  a  contemporary  account  is  full  of  the 
miraculous.  At  the  hour  of  the  boy's  birth,  a  priest  offer- 
ing mass  "  saw  in  the  chalice  the  image  of  a  little  child, 
surrounded  by  a  halo."  Every  turn  in  his  life  as  a  reformer 
was  marked  by  signs  and  wonders,  showing  divine  approv- 
al. It  was  a  very  corrupt  age,  as  our  author  admits,  and 
an  ideal  monk  was  the  man  to  teach  it  the  way  to  God.  It 
was  not  the  corruption  of  ignorance,  for  many  monasteries 
and  Episcopal  schools  in  France  were  then  seats  of  learn- 
ing. At  Angers  and  Toul,  jurisprudence  was  cultivated, 
with  other  studies.  In  the  abbey  of  Ardennes,  the  fine  arts 
were  taught.  In  Verdun,  Simeon,  a  monk  from  Sinai, 
taught  oriental  languages.  Medicine,  music  and  architect- 
ure flourished  under  William,  Abbot  of  St.  Benigne  of  Di- 
jon. In  Laon,  Anself  labored.  In  Bee,  Lanfranc  was  il- 
lustrious. These  scholarly  monks  taught  a  multitude  of 
young  men ;  but  the  students  knew  that  money,  or  illegiti- 
mate birth  from  some  noble,  put  unworthy  men  into  high 
places  in  the  Church ,  and  all  pious  people  bewailed  the 
low  state  of  religious  life.  A  reaction  was  inevitable,  and 
earnest  souls  in  the  monasteries  began  to  raise  their  voices 


iL'Huillier,   Vie    de  St.   Hugues,  Ahhe   de    Clmuj,   J 024-1109.      So- 
lesmes,  1888. 


77//;  ('urinu  OF   Tui:  middle  auks.         -iw 

against  the  two  great  evils  of  the  time,  the  immorahty  of 
the  clergy,  owing  to  enforced  celibacy,  and  the  sale  of 
church  livings  to  unworthy  men.  Hugh  was  one  of  the 
leaders  in  this  reform  movement,  together  with  men  like 
Anselm  and  Gregory  VII.  They  felt  that  if  the  Pope  was 
to  work  reform,  he  must  have  power;  hence  Gregory,  the 
monkish  Eeformer  of  the  Church,  was  the  man  who  also 
took  the  highest  ground  in  asserting  papal  supremacy,  and 
died  renewing  anathemas  against  Henry  IV.  Cluny,  as  is 
well  known,  was  a  center  of  this  reform  effort,^  and  it  is 
usually  said  that  Gregory,  when  monk  there,  was  thor- 
oughly prepared  for  the  new  departure.  But  Huillier  says 
that  he  was  never  prior  of  Cluny,  neither  was  he  a  monk 
by  profession  of  that  monastery;  he  was  only  an  associate 
there  for  a  short  time. 

Passing  to  the  twelfth  century,  and  looking  at  it  through 
the  Life  of  its  leading  man,  St.  Bernard,-  we  see  the  same 
religious  demoralization  in  the  Church  at  large ;  and  the 
monasteries,  with  all  that  was  evil  in  them,  still  forming 
the  reform  centers  of  Christendom.  But  the  element  of 
change,  of  conflict,  of  transition,  is  now  more  prominent. 
Chevallier  says  the  architecture  of  the  twelfth  century  was 
a  type  of  its  life ;  it  was  a  blending  of  Eoman  and  Gothic, 
showing  the  marks  of  a  civilization  incomplete,  but  rich  in 
signs  of  progress.  Papal  schism,  imperial  power  assailing 
the  Church,  the  Investiture  Controversy,  in  which  the  civil 


'Cf.  Bruel,  Recueil  des  Charles  de  Vahhaije  de  Cluny.  In  Collec- 
tion des  documents  inedits,Yo\.,  IV.  1888.  It  contains  859  Acts  of  1027- 
1090. 

-Chevallier,  Histoire  de  St.  Bernard,  Abbe  de  Clair vaux,  2cl  Ed. 
Lille.  1888.  2  Vols. 


212      ^  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

ruler  threatened  to  force  political  priests  into  bishoprics,  as 
the  Pagan  Emperors  once  did, the  Eationalism  of  Eoscelhnus 
and  Abelard  spreading  unrest  in  the  schools,  and  giving 
rise  to  Arnold  of  Brescia,  Henry  of  Bruj^s,  and  others  of 
their  tendency,  authority  in  both  Church  and  State  more 
and  more  lightly  esteemed,  the  appearance  of  free  cities, 
which  inaugurated  a  municipal  movement,  that  transformed 
social  relations — that  is  the  summary  which  our  author 
gives  of  the  transitional  age  upon  which  St.  Bernard  en- 
tet-ed,  Gregory  YII  sought  to  reform  the  Church  by  exalt- 
ing the  Papacy,  making  the  clergy  monks,  and  crippling 
the  power  of  lay  patrons.  Bernard  followed,  seeking  better 
things  in  the  way  of  mystic  piety,  devotional  separation 
from  the  world,  and  loving  imitation  of  Christ.  Then  came 
Francis  of  Assisi,  whose  idea  of  reform  rested  upon  the 
Church  unmixed  with  the  world,  caring  for  the  wretched, 
and  going  about  doing  good.  Here  are  fruitful  thoughts, 
which  did  not  die,  but  rather  revived  in  Eeformation  days, 
and  helped  produce  Protestantism. 

VI.       SECTS    OF    THE    MIDDLE    AGES. 

The  Sects  of  the  Middle  Ages  have  been  treated  by 
Dollinger,^  with  special  reference  to  the  Cathari,  or  the 
Gnostic-ManichBeans  of  this  period,  and  the  Waldenses. 
The  second  volume  is  a  store  house  of  source  material, 
largely  from  the  archives  of  the  Inquisition,  shedding  much 
light  on  this  mediaeval  Protestantism.      He  finds  in  the 


^Beitrdge  zur  Secktengeschichte  den  Miltelalte.rs.  2  Vols.  Beck: 
Munich,  1890.  M.  22.  Thorough,  Vol  II  giving  711  pp.  of  Extracts 
from  Sources. 


THE    CHURCH    OF    THE   MIDDLE    AGES.  213 

Paiilicians    the    proper  connecting   link    between  ancient 
Gnosticism  and  that  of  the  Middle  Ages.     The  Bogomiles, 
a  sect  of  the  eleventh  century  in  Bulgaria,    associated  with 
the   Paulicians,    Dollinger    says,  taught    doctrines  which 
blended  early  Syrian  Gnosticism   with  the  views  of  the 
Messalians   or  Euchites,   and    formed    a  peculiar  system 
chiefly  Monarchian,  not  dualistic,   as  was  the  Paulician. 
This  sect  had  now  spread  through  the  whole  European  jjart 
of  the  Empire,  being  especially  strong  in  Bulgaria.     After 
setting  forth  the  tenets  of  the  Bogomiles,  Dollinger  says 
that  it  is  interesting  to  learn  that  some  of  their  doctrines 
influenced  orthodox  Christians ;   especially   the   idea  that 
Catholic    baptism    was    powerless   in  itself.     Every  true 
Christian  becomes  such  through  instruction,  initiation,  and 
spiritual  transformation.     This  movement  in  favor  of  a  re- 
generate church  membership,    though  joined  to  wild  theo- 
ries, was  a  wholesome  and  sound  reaction  against  a  worldly 
Church.      Manich?eism  came  from  north  Africa  and  the 
East  into  Spain,  Gaul  and  Italy.     It  lingered  in  Italy  and 
France  into  the  Middle  Ages ;  but  its  teachings  changed, 
and  contained  only  those  doctrines  which  the  old  Mani- 
chaeans  held  in  common  with  the  leading  Gnostic  systems. 
This  modification  came,  through  the  Paulicians  and  Bogo- 
miles, into  western  Manicha3ism  or  Catharism,  the  way  be- 
ing prepared,  probably,    by  Priscillian  teachings.      It  was 
this  new  Maniclipeism,  stimulated  by  Priscillianism,  and  re- 
vived by  Bogomile  influences,  that  was  active  in  Italy  and 
France,  in  the   eleventh    century.       It    was    represented 
in  south  France,  from  lOlT  on,  by  the  Cathari.       This  in- 
fluence can  be  traced,  Dollinger  thinks,   in  Berengar  of 
Tours'  opposition  to  Transubstantiation.     Peter  of  Bruys, 


214  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

too,  and  Henry  of  Toulouse,  usually  regarded  as  founders 
of  new  sects,  and  forerunners  of  the  Waldenses,  were  fol- 
lowers of  the  same  later  Gnostic  tendency ;  they  were  Al- 
bigenses. 

The  Cathari  in  the  West  divided  into  three  schools^ 
the  Drugurish,  which  was  dualistic,  the  Bulgarian, 
which  followed  the  Bogomiles,  and  was  monarchian,  and 
a  middle  school,  the  Slavonic,  or  Bagnolese,  which  was- 
monarchian,  but  tidopted  two  dogmas  of  the  Dualists,  the 
pre-existence  of  the  soul  before  the  creation  of  the  world 
and  its  fall  in  a  previous  state,  and  that  the  Virgin  Mary 
was  a  docetic  angel,  and  Christ  had  only  a  heavenly  body. 
Most  of  the  Cathari  in  France  were  dualistic :  but  the  ma- 
jority,  in  Italy  and  north  France,  were  monarchian. 

By  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century,  Dollinger  thinks, 
there  were  Cathari  in  a  thousand  cities  of  the  West. 
Similar  sects,  Zendics,  Karmates,  etc.  appeared  now  also 
among  the  Mohammedans  ;  and  he  shows  that  there  was 
a  close  connection  between  the  Manichaeans  in  Christian 
and  Mohammedan  lands. 

The  Waldenses  were  a  more  practical  school  of  Ee- 
formers.  Creighton  traces^  their  historic  antecedents 
through  the  protests  made  against  the  unspirituality  of  the 
Church  in  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  by  men  like  Ber- 
engar  of  Tours.  Then  came  the  Paterines  in  Milan,  1045, 
protesting  against  simony  and  clerical  abuses  under 
Gregory  VII.  This  Pope  did  not  hesitate  to  enlist  these 
Puritans  in  his  service,  to  impose  clerical  celibac}^  Later, 
in  lilO,  an  apostate  monk  of  Zeeland,  Tanchelm,  went 
further  and  held  that  the  sacraments  were  valid  only  when 


'Art.    Waldenses,  in  Encycl  Brit.,  1888. 


THE    CIICRCII    OF    THE    MIDDLE   AGES.  215 

administered  by  holy  men.  In  France,  Peter  de  BruySj 
and  similar  men  preached  the  need  of  primitive  faith  and 
practice.  Amid  such  influences  did  Peter  Waldo  send  out 
his  lay  preachers,  who  spread  through  France,  Germany 
and  Italy.  He  differed,  Creighton  says,  from  St.  Francis 
in  teaching  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  while  the  Franciscans 
preached  the  Person  of  Christ.  "  Waldo  reformed  teach- 
ing, while  Francis  kindled  love.  "  Yet  these  Waldenses 
were  not  Protestants,  for  Protestantism  presents  Christ  as 
in  immediate  personal  communion  with  every  believer ;  but 
they  followed  the  mediaeval  view,  that  Christ  is  present  in 
the  orderly  communion  of  the  faithful ;  hence  their  em- 
phasis of  the  proper  administration  of  Word  and  Sacraments. 
Comba  says^  that  the  protest  of  the  Waldenses  aimed  at 
first  only  at  proclaimhig  the  apostolic  ideal,  an  ideal  dis- 
owned by  the  Popes  and  abandoned  by  the  Church ;  but 
that  meeting  with  persecutions,  it  gave  way  quickly  to  a 
movement  of  dissent,  Avhich,  though  it  did  not  at  once  cul- 
minate in  schism,  led  finally  of  necessity  to  it.  He,  too, 
traces  the  forerunners  of  Waldo  in  the  ancient  Cathari. 
Vigilantius  and  Claudius  of  Turin,  Arnold  of  Brescia, 
Peter  de  Bruys  and  Henry  of  Lausanne,  as  Waldo  himself, 
looked  towards  the  Pieformation.  The  Waldensian  move- 
ment was  part  of  a  general  uprising  against  the  corrupt 
Church,  that  appeared  in  the  Beghards,  the  Humiliati,  and 
various  forms  of  voluntary  poverty  in  those  days.  Troub- 
lous times,  also,  papal  schisms,  war  with  the  Empire,  be- 
sides the  general  raoral  laxity,  favored  such  a  movement. 


'^History  of  the  Waldenses  of  Italy,  from  their  Origin  to  the  Refor 
mat  ion.     London  1859. 


216  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Haupt  sums  up^  the  final  results  of  recent  investigation 
respecting  the  Waldenses  as  follows :  They  started  with 
Waldo,  in  1173,  who,  from  1177  on,  went  out  in  company 
with  his  friends  as  a  preacher  of  the  Apostolic  sort.  This 
was  forbidden,  1179,  by  the  Archbishop  of  Lyons,  by  Pope 
Alexander  III,  and,  in  1084,  the  first  ban  was  hung  over 
the  Sectaries,  who  were  now  spread  far  and  wide,  espe- 
cially in  upper  Italy.  A  division  appeared,  about  1200, 
between  the  French  and  Lombard  Waldenses,  in  relation 
to  self-government.  In  1218,  an  attempt  at  union  was 
made  which  failed,  because  the  Lombards  would  not  yield 
in  their  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  whose  efificacy  they 
made  dependent  upon  the  worthiness  of  the  administrator, 
and  would  not  recognize  Waldo  as  a  saint.  The  original 
Waldensian  Brotherhood  consisted  exclusively  of  the  travel- 
ling preachers,  who  vowed  evangelical  poverty,  and  lived 
as  missionaries  among  the  "Believers,"  who  formed  a  loose 
body  of  adherents  to  the  sect.  There  were  no  regular 
congregations.  Later,  by  1300,  this  relation  changed,  and 
both  preachers  and  believers  were  regarded  as  Waldenses ; 
the  preachers  were  then  called  "Masters,"  or  "Barbae." 
The  priesthood  of  all  believers  was  not  taught.  Neither 
did  the  "Believers,"  take  part  in  the  government  of  the 
Church.  Not  till  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
did  the  French  and  Lombard  Waldenses  agree  to  unite. 
The  chief  doctrines  of  the  conservative  group,  the  French, 
w^ere,  rejection  of  the  authority  of  the  Roman  Church,  re- 
jection of  Purgatory  and  Indulgences,  the  claim  of  the 
Apostolic  messengers  to  reduce  confession  and  make  prom- 
inent absolution  and  consecration,  absolute  prohibition  of 

^Hist.     Zeitschrift,  1889.     H.  I. 


THE    CnVRCH   OF    THE    JIIDDLE    AGES.  217 

lying,  swearing,  and  killing.  In  Germany,  the  Lombard 
Waldenses  called  themselves  ''Friends  of  God,  "  and  were 
less  sharj^ly  opposed  to  the  Church  than  the  Waldenses  in 
Italy,  who  regarded  her  as  the  Beast  of  the  Apocalypse, 
and  held  that  the  whole  hierarchy  had,  since  the  time  of 
Constantine,  lost  the  priestly  power,  which  w^as  now  claimed 
by  the  "  Poor, '^  the  Waldenses.  They  rejected  what  the 
French  Waldenses  did,  and  added  "ten  commandments" 
of  general  moral  import  to  the  Decalogue.  They  went 
further  and  opposed  the  mediatorship  and  worship  of 
saints  and  the  Virgin,  also  Church  ceremonies.  All  Wal- 
denses had  a  hierarchy  of  bishops,  elders,  and  deacons. 
The  view  that  the  Taborites  were  the  spiritual  sons  of  the 
Waldenses  has  good  support.  There  were  Waldenses  in 
Bohemia,  from  the  thirteenth  centui-y  on,  and  they  doubt- 
less influenced  the  Taborites.  Preger  thinks  their  doc- 
trines were  the  same  as  those  of  the  Lombard  Waldenses ; 
but  Haupt  holds  the  influence  of  Wiclif  must  be  more  rec- 
ognized among  the  Bohemians.  In  the  Taborite  movement, 
two  elements,  Wiclifite  and  Waldensian,  met,  the  one  in- 
fluencing more  the  theologians,  the  other  stirring  more  the 
common  people.  Muller  thinks  the  whole  Waldensian 
movement  has  been  over-estimated  in  its  importance  for 
the  Keformation.  Neither  in  defining  the  moral  ideal  of 
life,  nor  in  its  treatment  of  the  Chui-ch  means  of  grace,  nor 
in  its  view  of  salvation  was  an3'thing  changed  by  the  Wal- 
denses. But  Haupt  considers  this  is  going  too  far.  The 
Waldenses  made  a  deeper  use  of  the  Bibie  than  Muller 
supposes.  It  became  the  only  Piule  of  Faith.  In  time 
their  views  of  repentance  became  more  profound,  too, 
under  study  of  the  Scriptures.     They,  alco,   first  gave  the 


218  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

people  a  vernacular  Bible,  three  hundred  years  before 
Luther.  And  through  opposmg  purgator}^  the  aid  of 
saints,  Indulgences,  and  the  worldly  possessions  of  the 
Church,  the  Waldenses,  like  the  Bohemian  K'^formers, 
prepared  the  way  for  Luther. 

Through  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  cen- 
turies Fridericq  sliows^  the  Liquisition  fighting  similar  re- 
form movements  in  the  Netherlands.  Waldenses  were  tor- 
tured as  witches  here,  in  1460,  twenty-four  years  before 
Innocent  VIII  issued  his  bull  on  the  subject.  The  chief 
persecutor  of  the  place  said  he  thought  more  than  one 
third  of  Christendom,  including  cardinals  and  bishops, 
were  Vaudois.  In  1025,  we  hear  of  Cathari  summoned 
before  the  bishops  in  Utrecht.  Early  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury Tanchelm  appeared.  In  1203,  i't  was  forbidden,  in 
Liittich  to  read  books  about  the  Bible  in  the  vulgar  tongue. 
In  1376,  Gregory  XI  forbade  any  layman  ''to  use  any  ver- 
nacular books  respecting  Holy  Scripture."  Edo  of  Haar- 
lem, 1458,  a  "heresiarch, ''  translated  parts  of  the  Bible  into 
German.  And  a  heretic  of  Tour  nay,  1472,  appealed  to  a 
text  "i/i    sua    vidgari    biblia.'^ 

So  mediaeval  reforms  grew  towards  the  Eeformation. 
But  they  nowhere  reached  Eeformation  ground.  Vil- 
lari    claims'-   that   Savonarola   belonged    to  the  new    age, 


^  Corpus  Documentorum  Inquisitionis  Hcereticac  Pravitatis  Neer- 
landicce,  1025—1520.  Ghent.  1889.  Fr.  15.  A  valuable  collection  of 
446  papers. 

^  Life  and  Times  of  Savonarola.  London:  Fisher  Unwin.  1889. 
2  Vols. 

Cf.  also   Poole,  Wyvliffe   and  movements  for   Reform,  in   Epoehi^  of 
Church  History.  Longmans  &  Co:  London.  1889;  and  Wiclifs  Ser- 
mons, edited  from  MSS.  by  Loserth,  Vol  III.     Super  Epistolas. 
Koehler:  Leipzig,  1889.  M.  15. 


THE    CHURCH   OF    THE    MIDDLE   ACES.  219 

that  he  was  a  reformer,  an  innovator,  a  man  who  made  a 
New  Departure  in  every  direction,  philosophy,  pohtics  and 
rehgion.  He  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  Eenaissance,  he 
says,  but  he  went  back  not  to  pagan  classic  writers,  but  to 
the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  the  ancient  Prophets,  and  the  Apoc- 
alypse, whose  burning  imagerygaveflames  to  his  eloquence. 
Yet  Villari  admits  that  Savonarola  lived  and  died  an  un- 
swerving Catholic,  though  working  for  reform.  Hence  his 
statue  is  out  of  place  on  the  monument  of  Luther  at 
AVorms. 

VII.       MOHAMMEDANISM  AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

We  know  that  Charlemagne,  the  great  Christian  ruler 
of  the  West,  and  Haroun  al  Rashid,  the  great  Mohammedan 
ruler  of  the  East,  made  a  treaty  with  one  another ;  the  con- 
sequences of  that  alliance  have  been  treated  recently  by 
Gorres.^  As  a  rule,  the  caliphs  gave  the  Christians  re- 
ligious freedom ;  though  occasionally  they  were  interfered 
with.  Thus  one  ruler  extended  the  command  against  the 
use  of  wine  to  Christians,  and  rejected  the  testimony  of  a 
Christian  against  a  Mohammedan.  The  father  of  Haroun 
went  so  far  as  to  persecute  Christians.  But  his  greater 
son  introduces  us  to  the  broad,  liberal  follower  of  Islam. 
His  treaty  with  Charlemagne  showed  religious  tolerance : 
it  showed  also  good  statesmanship,  for  it  was  based  upon 
mutual  opposition  to  the  caliphs  of  Cordova,  on  the  one 
side,  and  to  the  Eastern  Empire,  on  the  other.  Charle- 
magne was  active  in  helping  poor  Christians  in  Africa,  also 


^  Hariui  al  Raschid  ii.  das  Christenthum,  in  Ztft.  f.  wins.  Theolocjie. 
1889.  H.  I. 


220  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

in  the  East ;  for  this  reason  he  sought  the  friendship  of 
foreign  rulers.  He  stood  in  a  similar  relation  to  both 
Haroun  the  Caliph  and  Hadrian  the  Pope.  These  two  great 
monarchs  had  a  strong  admiration  the  one  of  the  other; 
and  their  friendship  could  endure,  for  they  had  no  differ- 
ences to  dispute  about.  Twice  they  exchanged  embassies. 
The  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem  sent  the  keys  of  the  Holy  City 
and  the  holy  sepulchre  to  Charlemagne,  putting  all  sym- 
bolically under  the  rule  of  the  Western  Emperor.  Haroun 
approved  of  this  action,  and  permitted  Charles  to  help 
Christians  by  hospitals  and  other  means  through  all  his 
dominions.  He  even  gave  full  liberty  to  Christian  pil- 
grims to  visit  Palestine.  This  liberty  was  extended  to  in- 
clude Christians  in  his  own  lands.  This  was  a  wise  policy, 
for  many  rebellions  weakened  his  power. 

Had  the  friendly  relations  of  these  great  monarchs 
been  fostered  by  their  successors  East  and  West,  what 
wonderful  chapters  in  the  history  of  commerce,  culture  ana 
learning,  might  have  been  substituted  for  the  history  of 
wrong  and  ruin  commonly  called  the  Crusades. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE    MODERN    CHURCH. 
I.       THE    GERMAN    REFORMATION. 

Scliaff's  book^  is  the  most  important  contribution  in 
English  to  the  histoiy  of  the  Reformation  in  Germany  that 
has  appeared  during  the  year.  He  is  in  <<  essential  har- 
mony "  with  Ranke  and  Kostlin.  Pre-Reformntion  Catho- 
licism is  related  to  Protestantism  as  pre-Christian  Israel 
to  the  Church  of  Christ.  Both  were  of  divine  origin ;  but 
both  sank  into  gross  error,  and  finally  became  hostile  to 
light  and  truth.  Schaff  follows  Kalmis  in  speaking  oi  the 
three  principles  of  Protestantism  as  justification  by  faith, 
the  Bible,  and*  the  priesthood  of  all  believers.  Such  truths 
came  naturally  to  the  surface  with  the  revival  of  the 
Augustinian  teachings.  Sell  emphasizes  this  fact  (I.  c), 
that  "in  its  religious  relations  the  Reformation  of  Luther 
as  well  as  of  Zwingli,  rests  upon  strict  Augustinism,  upon 
faith  in  God's  absolute  sovereignty  over  men.  Man  is  not 
free  before  God,  and  his  duty  is  unconditional  surrender 
to  God.  What  the  Church  had  weakened  away,  by  put- 
ting her  own  ordinances  in  place  of  God,  was  restored  by 
the  Reformation.  Man  exists  entirely  and  only  for  God.'* 
On  this  position  is  based  the  moral  responsibility  of  man. 


Ufistory  of  the  Christian  Church.    Vol.  VI.    The  German  Reforma- 
tion, 1517-1530.     New  York:  Scribner.  1888. 


222  IlISTORlrAL     THEOLOGY 

which  is  at  the  same  time  his  moral  freedom.  "The  man 
who  belongs  entirely  to  God  is  for  that  reason  free  from 
every  claim  but  that  of  God,  and  the  claim  of  God  is  none 
other  than  moral  duty  in  the  wide  extent  described  by  the 
Gospel."  And  this  right  and  this  duty  are  the  same  for 
all.  There  are  no  privileged  classes,  no  churchly  rules, 
which  can  free  from  moral  obligations.  All  men  are  equal 
before  God ;  hence  the  double  morality  of  monks  or  clergy 
and  ordinary  Christians  was  cast  aside ;  all  are  priests 
unto  God.  These  were  the  far-reaching  principles  of  the 
Keformers,  which  turned  the  world  upside  down.  It  was 
felt  that  apostolic  teachings  had  returned ;  and  gratitude  for 
such  a  gift  of  God  was  the  impelling  power  in  the  Reforma- 
tion movement.  Here  lay  its  strength,  Sell  remarks,  for 
it  united  hearts  in  love  and  did  not  divide  them  by  jeal- 
ousy. The  multitude  of  pious  souls  were  at  once  gathered 
together  by  it. 

The  Reformation  was  doubtless  in  an  important 
sense  a  necessar}^  outburst,  a  natural  protest  against 
despotic  authority,  though  we  can  hardly  agree  with 
Beard,^  that  "the  authoritative  Church  and  the  volun- 
tary assembly  of  free  riien  will  always  continue  to  exist 
side  by  side,  each  uttering  an  eternal  protest  against  the 
other,  yet  both  necessary  lo  ;5upply  the  various  religious 
wants  of  mankind."  Protestantism  and  Romanism  are 
not  equally  legitimate.  The  Reformation  was  more  than 
a  makeweight  in  the  balance  of  European  civilization  and 
ethical  life. 

The  Reformers  held  the  great  Creeds,  the  Apostolic,  the 


^Martin  Luther  and  the  Reformation  in  Germany  until  the  Close  of 
the  Diet  of  Worms.     London,  1889, 


THE    modi: UN    CUURCIL  223 

Niceue,  the  Atlianasiaii ;  and  besides  these  the  Church  had 
none  other  to  show.  On  the  basis  of  these  they  fought  the 
corrupt  accretions  of  Papal  superstition,  and  stripped  oft' 
the  t3Tanny,  priestcraft,  bigotry  and  uncleanness  of  cen- 
turies. How  much  there  was  to  overcome  may  be  con- 
jectured from  what  still  remained  in  the  best  of  them. 
Even  Melancthon,  we  are  told,  never  lost  his  belief  in  ap- 
paritions of  Satan,  in  sorcerers,  in  the  interpretation  of 
dreams,  and  in  astrology. 

II.   THE  REFORMATION  IN  ENGLAND. 

In  England,  as  in  Germany,  the  Eenaissance  led  to- 
wards the  Eeformation.  Erasmus,  the  great  Humanist,  was 
a  friend  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  who  was  one  of  a  group,  in- 
cluding also  Wolse}^  who  loved  the  new  learning.'  Like 
Erasmus,  however,  these  men  could  condemn  the  abuses  of 
the  Church,  yet  hold  nearly  all  the  Church  doctrines.  More 
condemned  the  whole  position  of  theEeformers,  though  he  at 
first  doubted  Papal  Supremacy  till  persuaded  by  Henry  VIH, 
as  early  as  1518.  And  strange  to  say,  for  this  opinion, 
learned  against  his  first  convictions,  from  Henry,  and 
not,  as  Protestants  say,  for  refusing  to  recognize  the  chil- 
dren of  Anne  Boleyn,  More  died^  by  command  of  Henry. 
Like  Erasmus,  he  feared  all  excesses.  Luther's  coarse  re- 
ply  to  Henry,  the  Peasant's  War,  the  Anabaptist  move- 
ment, Tyndale's  New  Testament,  spreading  discontent  in 


^Cf.  Hutton.  The  Reliffious  Writings  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  in  The 
English  Hist.  Review.     Oct.  1889. 

"So  Alexander,  Die  Englischen  Mnrtyrer  ivdhrend  u.  seil  der  Refor- 
mation.    Paderborn.     1888. 


224  HISTORIC  AI.    THEOLOGY. 

England,  all  led  More  to  take  the  lead  in  the  literary  de- 
fense of  the  Catholic  Church.  Hutton  thinks  the  charges, 
that  More  was  cruel  as  Lord  Chancellor  towards  Protestants, 
and  even  guilty  of  illegal  acts  against  them,  are  ground- 
less.^ He  was  a  lovely  character,  a  winning  scholar,  but 
not  the  man  to  cleanse  and  purge  the  Church  of  England. 
How  much  that  Church  needed  purification  appears  afresh 
from  manuscript^  records  of  Episcopal  visitations  of  Eng- 
lish monasteries  in  1526.  Of  the  Cistersian  monastery 
of  Thame,  we  learn  that  the  abbot  gave  some  of  its  lands 
to  his  f  fiend,  J.  Cowper ;  he  kept  young  people  about  him 
and  gave  rise  to  evil  reports ;  he  gave  H.  Symonds  a  good 
position  because  he  had  married  a  woman  named  Cor- 
ny she  ;  he  gave  property  of  the  cloister  to  promote  the 
marriage  of  his  friends  ;  women  visited  the  monastery  caus- 
ing scandal;  monks  strolled  about,  one  of  them,  Chyanor 
visited  Mrs.  Barbour,  a  woman  of  ill-repute,  as  did  other 
monks ;  they  were  idle  and  ignorant.  The  abbot  admitted 
most  of  these  things  in  such  bad  Latin  that  the  bishop  said 
he  could  often  only  guess  at  the  meaning. 

The  Augustinian  monasteries  seem  to  have  beeiji 
just  as  demoralized.  In  these  we  hear  of  an  abbot 
who  had  not  said  mass  for  three  years.  He  had  a 
clown  follow  him,  even  to  church,  and  make  jokes. 
Dominus  Broughton  was  threatened  with  imprison- 
ment if  he  admitted  women  to  his  room,  "especially 
the    wife    of   Edward  Bathfield."     Other  monks    received 


^For  a  R.  Catliolic  account  of  these  things,  see  Budgett's  Life  of 
Blessed  John  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester.    London.     1888. 
2Cf.     The  English  Hist.  Review.     Oct.  1888. 


Till-:  MODjjny  en  men.  225 

like  warnings  from  the  bisliopJ  Gasquet,  a  Benedictine, 
tries  to  sliow^  that  the  immorahties  of  Enghsh  monasteries 
were  not  so  great  as  here  suggested.  He  thinks  their  popu- 
hirity  among  the  people  is  an  argument  against  their  cor- 
ruption. But  it  might  be  answered,  this  popularity  was 
c-hietly  in  the  north  of  England;  and  the  free  use  by  friends 
of  monastery  lands  would  help  stifle  criticism.  He  shows, 
however,  that  the  statement — "two-thirds  of  the  monks 
were  leading  vicious  lives,"  is  groundless.  King  Henry 
himself  gave  pensions  to  more  than  one-third  of  the  monks 
named  as  criminal  by  his  visitors.  And  yet  Gasquet  must 
admit  not  a  few  cases  like  the  Abbey  of  Langton,  where  a 
woman  was  caught  runmng  from  the  monastery.  It  is  es- 
timated that  twenty  thousand  monks  and  nuns  were  made 
homeless  by  the  king's  confiscations.  By  the  suppression 
of  the  lesser  religious  houses  alone  property  to  the  value  of 
£30,000  a  year  was  seized  ;  wdiile  other  spoils  amounted  to 
more  than  .£100,000.  It  must  be  admitted  that  sometimes 
abbots  of  good  character  and  loyal  to  the  king  were  hung 
on  a  trivial  pretext,  and  their  property  seized.  The  Charter 
House  monks  were  dragged  through  the  streets  on  a  hurdle 
to  the  gallows,  not  hanged  and  dragged  as  hitherto  de- 
scribed.-'' The  death  of  these  heroic  men,  among  them 
eighteen  Carthusians,  did  not  prevent  royal  supremacy  in 
the  Church,  but  it  helped  gain  for  us  the  spiritual  liberty 
which  we  now  have. 


'Cf.    Engl.  Hist.  Review.     April,  1889.     p.  304. 
^ Henry  VIII  and  the  English  Monasteries.    2  vols.     1889. 
^See  the  account  of  Hendricks,  a  monk.   The  London  Charter  House : 
its  Monks  and  its  Martyrs.     London.  1889. 


226  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

III.       PROTESTANT  BENEFICENCE. 

The  monastic  theory  of  life,  by  making  poverty  a  virtue, 
not  only  encouraged  Christians  to  help  the  wretched  and 
those  in  want,  but  very  greatly  promoted  the  growth  of  the 
evil  which  it  set  itself  to  alleviate.  It  failed  to  encourage 
industry,  honest  self-respect,  economy,  and  those  frugal 
virtues  which  now  especially  flourish  in  Protestant  lands. 
The  mediaeval  method  led  to  poverty ;  "through  the  world- 
liness  of  the  clergy  and  through  indiscriminate  giving  be- 
cause of  a  false  theory  of  the  merit  of  alms,  Church  benefi- 
cence was  brought  into  a  false  course."^  Begging  ceased  to 
be  a  shame,  and  increased  beyond  all  control.  The  monkish 
doctrine  of  poverty,  the  benefit  of  the  prayers  of  mendicant 
friars,  etc.,  so  perverted  thought,  that  the  attempt  was  not 
seriously  made  to  free  the  poor  from  indigence.  Some 
efforts  were  made  in  the  fourteenth  century  to  limit  beg- 
ging; but  it  was  the  Keformation  that  first  brought  in 
correct  views  respecting  wealth  and  poverty,  property  and 
alms,  work  and  calling.  The  principle  was  now  introduced, 
that  we  help  the  poor,  not  to  promote  our  own  spiritual 
gain,  but  for  Christ's  sake.  The  result  w^as  a  new  system 
of  caring  for  the  poor.  Of  172  resolutions  of  Protestant 
Churches,  collected  from  the  sixteenth  century,  55  have  to 
do  with  the  care  of  the  poor.  Nobbe  sums  up  the  benefi- 
ciary system  of  the  Pieformers  in  the  following  points  : 

(1).  All  help  given  the  poor  is  to  be  associated  with  re- 
ligious teaching,  pointing  towards  any  evil  underlying  the 
poverty. 


'See  Nobbe,  Ztfl.  /.  Kirchengeschichte.     Bel.  X,  H.  4.   1889. 


THE   MODERX    ('IIURCll.  227 

(2).  Proper  orf];anization,  for  systematic  collection  of 
means  and  their  distribution. 

(3).  Aid  to  all  kinds  of  poor  in  the  parish. 

(4).  Care  of  the  poor  in  their  homes;  help  them  where 
the}^  can  help  themselves  best. 

(5).  The  poor  are  to  be  helped  bv  natural  methods,  by 
giving  them  work,  kc, 

(6).  Poverty  is  to  be  prevented. 

(7).  No  aid  is  to  be  given  to  beggars. 

(8).  Single  congregations  should  unite  for  the  care  of 
the  poor.  In  this  [general  work  all  should  co-operate. 
State,  Church,  Associations,  Corporations,  private  men. 

IV.       THE    HUGUENOTS. 

The  Huguenot  movement  was  at  first  religious,  then  it 
became  more  political.  A  recent  writer  finds^  the  political 
factor  come  in  after  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew 
(1572).  The  Huguenots  now  began  to  look  for  a  perma- 
nent basis  of  resistance  to  absolutism,  to  get  a  philosophi- 
cal justification  of  rebellion.  For  this  purpose  they  advo- 
cated the  Germon  theory  of  government  in  opposition  to 
the  Roman  theory,  a  limited  monarchy,  not  an  absolute,  a 
ruler  elected  by  the  people,  not  a  despot.  This  view  puts 
supreme  authority  in  the  people,  not  in  the  crown.  The 
king  is  an  official ;  so  is  the  Pope.  They  exist  for  the  na- 
tion and  the  Church,  not  nation  and  Church  for  them.  The 
appeal  is,  to  return  to  the  ancient  system  of  Franco-Gallia, 


'^Political  Theory  of  the  Huguenots,  in  The  English  Hist.   Review. 
Jan.  1889. 


228  UISTOIUCAL    THEOLOGY. 

and  renounce  the  imported  institutions  which  have  cor- 
rupted the  national  polit}^  Government  rests  upon  a  triple 
contract,  between  God  and  king,  God  and  nation,  nation 
and  king;  hence  the  king  has  no  rights  which  infringe 
those  of  God  or  the  people.  A  ruler  who  forsakes  God 
may  forfeit  his  kingdom ;  and  the  people  may  resist  such 
a  king,  in  virtue  of  their  contract  with  God.  In  doing  so, 
they  are  to  act  through  their  representatives,  the  Parlia- 
ment and  the  nobles. 

Courtisigny  estimates^  nearly  two  millions  of  Protes- 
tants in  France,  in  1685.  But  in  1760,  there  were  only 
593,307  Calvinists  in  the  land,  a  little  less  than  the  num- 
ber of  Protestants  now  in  France.  Between  1685  and  1787, 
most  of  the  higher  callings — lawyers,  physicians,  booksell- 
ers, &c., — were  shut  to  Huguenots  ;  the  upper  classes  forsook 
Protestanism,  and  so  it  waned.  Yet  it  has  always  remained 
true  to  its  idea  of  a  religion  founded  on  the  Bible.  One 
result  has  been  the  careful  education  of  the  young,  that 
they  might  read  the  Holy  Book.'-^  As  early  as  1551,  "the 
schoolmaster  was  regarded  as  an  ecclesiastical  functionary." 

When  these  Protestants  received  religious  tolerance 
they  demanded  especially  the  right  to  open  public  schools. 
In  the  seventeenth  century,  such  schools  were  very  numer- 
ous. After  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  the  Catholics  had  laws 
passed  allowing  only  reading,  waiting  and  arithmetic  in  these 
schools ;  then  only  one  school  in  each  place,  and  only  one 
master  in  a  school.     Thus  Louis  XI Y  greatly  crippled  these 


^Bulletin  de  la  Societe  de  Vhistoire  du  Protestantisme  francais.  Oct. 
15,1888.  See  also  Schott,  Das  Toleranzedikt  Ludicig's  XVI,  in  Hist. 
Ztft.  1889,  H.  3. 

2Cf.  Art.   Ecoles  Protestantes,  in  Revue  Chretienne.     Aug.  1889. 


TIfK    MODKRX    CIirRCir.  229 

institutions,  and  they  sadly  declined,  till  in  the  eighteenth 
century  only  here  and  there  a  hidden  school  remained. 
After  the  Ee volution,  the  Protestant  Consistory  of  Paris 
led  the  way,  in  1792,  with  "a  free  school  for  elementary 
religious  instruction."  By  1S2S,  there  were  392  Protes- 
tant primary  schools  ni  France ;  and  there  was  great  need 
of  them,  for  13,984  of  the  88,135  Communes  had  no 
schools.  When  the  Republic  was  restored,  in  1871,  there 
were  1,600  Protestant  schools;  but  then  the  whole  school 
system  was  changed,  and  these  schools  put  in  a  much  less 
favorable  position. 

This  wonderful  expansion  of  Protestant  schools  in 
France  ran  parallel  with  the  general  growth  of  the 
churches.  In  the  years  of  restoration,  lJ>02-1808,  there 
were  196  churches,  201  pastors  and  106  temples.  Now 
there  are  543  churches,  712  pastors,  eight  evangelists,  908 
temples,  15  chapels,  121  Prayer-rooms,  762  Sunday-schools. 
Adding  to  these  the  Lutherans,  Free  Church,  Methodists, 
Baptists  and  others,  we  get  a  total  of  605  Protestant 
churches,  945  pastors,  1,329  religious  buildings,  1,085 
Sunday-schools,  1,741  primary  schools,  of  which,  however, 
1,582  have  been  secularized  by  the  Republic,  and  220  be- 
nevolent enterprises.^  Perrenond  says  there  w^ere  428,036 
Protestants  in  France,  in  1802;  now,  he  reckons  652,422,  a 
gain  of  224,366  in  86  years,  in  a  population  which  is  nearly 
stationary.  Of  these  churches,  Cyr  says^  331  are  orthodox, 
and  192  rationalistic.  The  creed  test,  adopted  in  1871, 
was,  "We  believe  in   Jesus  Christ,   who    died  for  our  sins 


-For  these  statistics  see  Perrenoud,  Elude  historique  sur  les  pro- 
grefi  du  ProteHtantismc  en  France.     Paris:  Fisehbaclier.    1889.  Fr.  5. 

-Cf.   The   Unitarian  Revieiv.     Jan.  1889. 


280  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

and  rose  for  our  justitication";  but   the  liberals   denounce 
any  creed. 

V.       THE  CHRISTIANITY  OF  RUSSIA. 

Probably  no  part  of  modern  Church  History  is  less  fa- 
miliar to  the  ordinary  student  than  that  of  Kussia.  Slavs 
themselves  speak  of  their  nationality  as  "a  Sphinx  and 
Amorphes,  "  yet  to  be  developed,  and  threatening  more 
than  any  other  race  to  change  the  current  of  modern 
thought.  Kussia  is  not  a  Christian  nation,  like  others  in 
Europe,  hence  it  claims  special  study.  A  recent  work^ 
illustrates  this  subject  from  the  testimonies  of  Kussians 
themselves.  These  writers  agree  that  the  Empire  of  the 
Czar  is  rushing  ''with  dizzying  haste,  economically  and 
morally  towards  destruction." 

The  Kussian  Church,  far  from  giving  life  and  light 
in  such  circumstances,  is  "isolated,  shut  off  in  a 
mouldy,  cellar  atmosphere,  and  so  overgrown  by  a 
flora  of  the  toadstool  sort,  that  it  cannot  be  recognized, 
as  it  lies  buried  in  the  death  sleep  of  a  thousand 
years."  A  terrible  ritualism  has  killed  it,  and  so 
thrust  Christian  doctrines  into  the  background,  that,  as 
Prof.  Ikonnikow  says,  in  many  places  Kussian  orthodoxy 
cannot  be  distinguised  from  Finnish  "  Schamanenthum." 
Very  few  Kussians,  of  any  class,  know  the  teachings  of 
their  Church.  '*  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Kussian  Christianity 
in  practice  has  become  a  mere  ritual  Lamaism,  fitted  out 
with    Christian    terminology."      Hence,    Prof.    Ssolowjow 


^Frank,  Russische   Selbstzengnisse.      I    Russisches    Christenthum. 
Dargpstellt  nach  russischen  Angaben.     Paderborn.    Schohingli.  ISS'J. 


77/ A'    MODERN    ClirHCIT.  231 

says  the  Paissian  Church,  from  its  bef^iiining,  has  done 
absohitely  nothing  for  the  rqoral  development  of  the  Kus- 
sian  people.  It  has  even  contributed  to  the  moral  de- 
pravity of  the  nation,  by  serving  blindly  Russian  despotism. 
It  is  essentially  nothing  more  than  a  division  of  the  State 
police.  "Under  her  direct  co-operation  false  doctrines 
have  spread  in  Russia,  which  not  only  differ  in  particular 
dogmas  from  general  Christian  teachings,  but  are  really 
un-Christian  and  anti-Christian  heresies  of  the  worst  kind." 
The  followers  of  these  false  teachings,  in  many  places, 
together  with  the  ritual  Dissenters  (Raskolniks),  the  ration- 
alistic, Protestanl:,andPjclectic  sects,  make  up  the  whole  pop- 
ulation. The  question  might  even  be  asked,  whether  Rus- 
sian Christianity  is  Christianity  at  all.  Certainly  it  is  a 
pitiful  assumption,  it  is  added,  for  such  a  Church  to  claim 
to  be  the  sole  possessor  of  pure  orthodoxy. 

Tschaadajew,  d.  1856,  ''the  first  independent  thinker  of 
Ru.-sia,"  laments  that  the  Russians  have  no  history,  no 
development  behind  them,  no  triilitions,  no  phychological 
and  moral  rooting  in  the  past,  no  general  principles  unit- 
ing them;  all  is  individual,  sa]  erficial,  disconnected,  hes- 
itating and  imperfect.  '•*  If  ue  are  considered,'' he  says, 
"one  might  suppose  that  in  our  case  the  general  law  of 
nature  had  been  suspended.  We  stand  alone,  having 
given  the  world  nothing,  added  not  a  single  idea  to  the  mass 
of  human  ideas  ;  but  rather,  perverted  all  that  has  come  to 
us  from  the  progress  of  humanity."  He  regrets  that 
Photius  tore  Russia  and  the  Eastern  Church  away  from 
the  unity  of  Catholic  Christendom,  and  isolated  Russia. 
Renaissance,  Reformation,  all  these  Russia  has  missed. 
Her  Christianity  is  like  that  of  Abyssinia ;  her  civilization 


233  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

like  that  of  Japan ;  she  has  not  grown  with  the  rest  of  the 
nations  into  European  Christianity  and  civilization.  He 
continues :  "Russia  has  had  no  religious  wars,  no  Inquisi- 
tion, but  she  is  the  poorer  for  such  peace.  Those  bloody 
battles  for  truth  have  made  a  world  of  which  Russia  can- 
not form  an  idea,  much  less  reproduce  it."  These  writers 
agree  that  the  regeneration  of  the  Russian  Church  must 
precede  the  regeneration  of  the  Russian  nation.  Forced 
orthodoxy  must  cease  before  intelligent  belief  can  be 
reached.  The  present  system,  as  Tolstoi  tells  us,  has 
made  the  upper  classes  indifferent  to  all  religion ;  the 
middle  classes  of  officials  and  clergy  are  the  chief  sup- 
ports of  Nihilism ;  and  even  the  peasants  are  becoming 
atheistic.  These  evils  arise  because  the  Russian  Church 
is  w^alled  round  from  all  intercourse  with  the  West.  The 
corrupt  religion  and  dead  moiiasticism  which  Russia  re- 
ceived from  Greece  have  been  a  fatal  inheritance ;  the 
remedy  must  come  from  vital  contact  vdth  pure  Christian- 
ity and  true  culture. 

It  is  very  likely  that  here  as  elsewhere  the  Reviva 
of  Learning  will  be  the  forerunner  of  the  Reformation 
in  Religion.  Already  some  signs  indicate  more  serious 
thought  in  Russian  literature.  Milyoukov  says''-'  that 
the  characteristic  motive  underlying  all  Russian  Fiction 
is  "to  give  a  moral  reason  and  principle  to  our  con- 
ception of  the  universe."  Hence,  "  Count  Tolstoi  is 
searching  for  a  moral  reason  for  the  existence  of  the  world, 
while  our  philosophical  historians  are  searching  for  prin- 
ciples in  the  evolution  of  history,  and  prove  the  legitimacy 


"^Tho.  AihencEum,  London,  July  6.  1889. 


THE   MODERN   CHlh.CH.  283 

of  the  ideal  element  in  their  explanation  of  the  process." 
A  similar  tendency  marks  Russian  philosophy.  *'The 
perio  1  of  positivism  and  empiricism  is  clearly  passing 
away  and  our  philosopliers  are  renewing  the  questions  of  old 
Slavophiles  after  some  universal  moral  truth,  in  opposition 
to  the  scientific  truth  found  by  the  'West.'  Metaphysical 
ethics  with  a  mystical  religious  coloring  is  becoming  the 
favo]-ite  subject  of  study  with  our  young  philosophers." 
In  these  speculations  the  fundamental  idea  is  ever  present, 
that  the  Eussian  national  ideal  is  to  play  a  leading  part 
in 'the  evolution  of  universal  history.  This  national  ideal, 
the  new  school  says,  consists  in  the  search  after  "  a  uni- 
versal organization  of  life  according  to  truth.  "  Such  uni- 
versal organization,  Solovieflf  says,^^  is  not  a  political 
system,  but  a  Church.  Hence,  the  first  step  towards  the 
fulfillment  of  Russia's  universal  historic  mission  must  be 
the  re-establishment  of  the  one  Catholic  Church,  a  union 
with  the  Western  Church,  by  an  act  of  national  self-denial. 
How  this  is  to  be  brought  about  we  are  not  told. 

VI.       THE    RO:\IAX    CATHOLIC    CHURCH. 

Until  recently  Roman  Catholics  have  admitted  that 
their  Church  was  corrupt  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  that 
Luther  was  a  brave,  but  extreme  advocate  of  needed  re- 
forms ;  but  Janssen  now  leads  a  school,  which  denies  the 
need  for  reform,  and  even  declares  that  Luther  was  in  no 
danger  at  Worms,  yet  he  appeared  there  and  through  the 
rest  of  his  life  as  a  coward,  behig  eo  afraid  of  assassina- 


'In  bis  work/f/zf  Histonj  and^ Future  of  TJiPOcracy. 


234  HISTORIC Al.    THEOLOGY. 

tion  that  it  became  a  sort  of  monomania.^  Few  thinkers, 
however,  will  beUeve  that  these  reformers  were  men  who 
had  not  the  courage  of  their  convictions.  It  was  not  rrom 
their  subserviency,  but  from  their  too  tenacious  chnging  at 
all  hazards  to  their  particular  convictions  that  division  and 
weakness  came  to  the  cause  w^hich  they  represented.  Wolf 
finds^  in  the  jealousies  of  the  Protestants  the  chief  grounds 
for  the  success  of  the  Roman  Catholic  reaction.  This 
Counter  Reformation  set  itself  to  accomplish  two  things : 
to  regenerate  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  to  recover  the 
ground  lost  by  the  early  successes  of  Protestantism.^  With 
the  promulgation  of  the  Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent  the 
first  systematic  attempt  was  made  to  obstruct  the  growth 
of  Protestantism  along  the  whole  line.  The  Counter 
Reformation  here  put  forth  its  full  force,  and  that  against 
a  divided  Protestantism.  This  movement  of  great  energy, 
Ward  says,  closed  with  the  collapse  of  the  attempt  of 
Philip  of  Spain  to  master  western  Christendom,  and  the 
granting  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  by  Henry  lY  of  France. 
Rome  then  worked  on  in  secret,  and  was  prepared  when 
the  Thirty  Years'  War  began.  But  in  this  struggle,  the 
effort  to  reform  Romanism  was  dropped  in  the  attempt  to 
regain  what  Rome  had  lost  by  Protestantism.  At  Trent, 
however,  refoi-m  was  in  the  air,  and  the  Protestants  though 
as  schismatics,  were  still  kept  in  mind  in  framing  decrees. 
It  is  still  a  question,  whether  the  decisions  of  Trent  recog- 
nize Protestant  marriages  as   lawful   or  not.     Leinz  con- 


'Cf.  Deiifsch-Ermj.  Bl'Vler.     1883.   H.  IX. 

-Zur  Geschickff:  (Ur  dputschen  Protestanten,  1535-59.    Berlin.  1888. 
=^So  W^ard,   The  Counter-Reformation,  in  Epochs  of  Church  History. 
New  York.  Randolph  &  Co.    1888.  $  .80. 


THE   310DERX   CHURCH.  235 

eludes^  that  the  Council  declares  such  marriages  null  where 
the  edict  of  Trent  has  been  properly  proclaimed  and  no 
impossibility  is  in  the  way.  That  is,  they  are  null  where 
such  unlawful  unions  take  j)lace  knowingly,  and  persons 
married  ignorantly,  when  told  of  their  error,  fall  into  con- 
cubinage unless  they  obey  the  Church.  A  father  confessor 
can,  at  any  moment,  tell  the  Catholic  member  of  a  mixed 
marriage  of  his  wrong  living,  and  set  before  him  fclie  alter- 
native, adultery  or  full  submission  to  Home !  In  this 
Counter  Reformation,  as  Sell  points  out  7.  c.  ,  Spain  took 
a  leading  place.  Here  both  movements,  that  for  the  reform 
of  the  Papacy,  and  that  for  its  restoration  to  full  power, 
were  organized.  Spanish  Catholic  reaction  ascended  the 
papal  thi'one  in  Hadrian  VI,  a  Netherlander,  and  former 
tutor  of  Charles  V.  The  Inquisition  and  the  Index  of  pro- 
hibited books-  were  both  inspired  from  Spain,  which  in 
I6O0  to  1650,  took  the  place  of  Italy  in  zeal.  Then  France 
assumed  the  lead  of  Catholic  reaction,  under  Louis  XIY. 
In  Spain,  Loyola  founded  the  Jesuit  Order,  which  labored 
as  no  other  to  crush  Protestantism,  and  sought  by  missions 
in  heathen  lands  to  make  good  the  loss  of  Protestant  na- 
tions. Ill  Spain,  too,  we  see  the  system  of  Indulgences, 
which  drove  Luther  to  fight  Eome,  shoot  up  into  rank, 
wanton  luxuriance.-^  There  were  indulgences  for  both  liv- 
ing and  dead.     The   receipt   for   one    of  the  latter  runs : 


^Der  Ehtvorsthrift  des  Concils  von  Trient.     Freiburg  i.  B.  Herder. 
1888.  M.  2. 

^For  a  list  of  tliese,  see  Index  libronim  prohibiioruni.  Turin.  Mari- 
etti.   1869.  $1.00, 

■*Cf.  Lea,    Indulgences  in  Spain,  in  Papers  of  the   Anier.   Soc.   of 
Church  Hist..  New  York.  1889. 


336  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

"Because  you,  N.,  have  given  the  said  two  reals  [ten cents] 
for  the  soul  of  N.,  and  have  received  the  bull,  the  said 
graces  and  plenary  indulgence  are  granted  to  the  soul  for 
which  you  have  given  this  sum."  The  pretext  for  selling 
Indulgences  was  the  war  against  the  Intidel.  These  Cru- 
sade bulls  have  been  a  regular  thing  since  1457.  When 
the  Indulgences  were  sold,  in  1519,  by  Leo  X,  the  Pope 
agreed  to  take  24,000  ducats  a  year;  the  rest  of  the  gains 
of  the  Crusade  went  to  the  king.  It  w^ent  on  so  till  1563, 
when  Pius  V  tried  to  carry  out  the  reforms  suggested  at 
Trent,  and  forbade  the  sale  of  Indulgences.  He  told 
Philip  II  the  Crusade  might  raise  up  a  Luther  in  Spain. 
But  the  Spanish  bishops  issued  Indulgences  of  their  own, 
in  1570,  which  gave  pardon  for  a  hundred  years,  that  being 
the  limit  of  a  bishop's  powers.  Pius  w^as  soon  forced  to 
allow  the  Crusade  to  resume.  The  profits  of  it  amounted 
to  about  J|600,000  a  year,  nearly  as  much  as  the  king  re- 
ceived from  the  fabulous  wealth  of  the  Indies.  And  this 
w^as  but  a  small  part  of  what  the  people  paid.  A  part  of 
this  revenue  now  goes  to  Eome ;  but  the  most  of  it  is  used 
to  support  the  Church  in  Spain.  About  3,500,000  bulls 
of  Indulgence  are  now  sold  each  year  in  Spain  and  her 
colonies — much  less  than  in  former  ages. 

The  continuation  of  Bellesheim's  History  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  of  Scotland^  leads  us  to  look  at  the  Keformation 
in  that  country  as  explained  by  a  Eoman  Catholic.  It  is 
not  so  much  the  fundamental  principles  of  Protestantism 
that  are  selected  for  animadversion,  as  the  defects  and  ex- 


1  Translated  with  Notes  and  Additions  by  D.  O.  Hunter  Blair, 
0.  S.  B.  Vol.  III.,  from  the  Revolution  of  1560  to  the  death  of  James 
VI,  1625.  Blackwood  &  Sons.  Edinburgh.  1889. 


THE    MODERX    ('IlCnclI.  23T 

cesses  that  can  be  pointed  out  in  the  work  of  reform.  We 
hear  how  the  Eeformers  destro3'ed  abbeys,  chapels  and 
monasteries  in  their  mad  zeal  against  idolatry.  The 
j^eople  needed  ''sharp  punishment"  to  reform  them  ;  yet 
it  is  admitted  that  Scotland  became  more  and  more  Protes- 
tant. One  of  the  real  causes  of  the  ra])id  spread  of  the 
Eeformation  comes  out  in  a  vigorous  treatise  of  Winzot,^ 
a  Catholic  of  those  days.  He  denounces  bitterly  the  scan- 
dalous life  of  the  bishops  and  the  high  Catholic  clergy. 
The  nobility  were  corrupt  and  greedy,  and  they  filled  the 
Church  with  priests  like  themselves.  Next  we  hear  that 
Knox  was  a  coarse  demagogue,  who  was  involved  in  the 
plot  to  murder  Eizzio.  Mary  might  well  regard  him  as  a 
"blood-stained  hypocrite."  He  and  George  Buchanan 
"were  men  of  abominable  practices  and  correspondent 
characters."  The  Eeformation  was  largely  the  work  of  the 
unscrupulous  nobility.  The  account  of  the  Scottish  nobles 
is  hardly  overdrawn  by  Bellesheim ;  but  it  might  be  re- 
membered that  these  men  were  the  product  of  full-blown 
Catholicism.  Queen  Mary  appears  in  this  book  as  sinned 
against,  rather  than  sinning.  It  is  true  she  was  surrounded 
by  a  band  of  utterly  base  nobles,  and  yet  it  seems  certain 
that,  after  all,  her  long  sufferings  were  the  pains  of  a  sin- 
ning woman  expiating  her  "criminal  passion  for  a  scoun- 
drel."- Darnley  was  murdered  as  the  result  of  a  political 
plot  of  nobles  led  by  Murray,  yet  Mary's  hate  of  her  hus- 
band and  love  of  Bothwell  gave  her  a  guilty  connection 
vvitli  it.  Politics  and  religion  were  so  interwoven,  that 
even  the  Eeformers,  trained  as  they  had  been  in  the  ways 


'  Certain  Tractates,  Reprinted  for  the  Scottish  Text  Society,  1888. 
^lEtudessur  Vhistoire  dc  Marie  Stuart,  in  Rei'ne\Histori<iue,  1888-89'. 


^38  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

of  Rome,  might  well  do  things  that  neem  to  us  harsh  and 
cruel.  The  Catholics  of  Scotland  thought  it  their  duty  to 
plot  to  overthrow  the  Protestant  rule;  hence  the  stern 
measures  against  them.  When  the  Duke  of  .Guise,  the 
Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  the  Pope  and  Philip  II  could  plan 
to  assassinate  queen  Elizabeth,  the  statement  of  Belles - 
heim  must  be  taken  with  some  latitude,  that  "it  was  only 
aided  by  the  pressure  of  penal  laws  that  the  Pieformation 
was  able  to  gain  ground."  The  Catholic  reaction,  led  by  Jes- 
uits, and  connected  with  a  proposed  Spanish  expedition, 
made  Scotch  Protestants  take  repressive  measures. 

The  Jesuits  led  in  this  Catholic  reaction  and  their 
policy  allowed  the  use  of  all  means  that  might  insure  vic- 
tory. In  this  Order,  the  policy  of  expediency  gave  rise  to 
a  theology  of  ProhahiUsni,  which  for  two  centuries  has  agi- 
tated the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Through  this  contro- 
versy the  Jesuit  Order  fell ;  but  when  the  Jesuits  were  re- 
stored, this  theology  was  restored,  and  now  controls  papal 
thought.  The  gi'owth  of  this  theology  is  outlined  by  D611- 
inger  and  Reusch  as  follows  :^  The  Spanish  Dominican 
Bartholomaeus  de  Medina  first  taught,  in  1577,  that  it  is 
lawful  to  follow  a  probable  opinion  rather  than  a  more 
probable,  the  probable  opinion  being  such  as  "wise  men 
assert  and  the  best  arguments  confirm."  This  doctrine  be- 
came the  prevailing  view  in  Spain,  Italy,  and  Germany, 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  adopted  by  the  Jesuits 
and  applied  to  all  forms  of  casuistry.     In  the  second  half 


^  Geschichte  der  Moralstreitigkeiten  in  der  rinn.  kaih.  Kirche  seit 
dem  IGJahrh.  Mit  Beitrageu  zur  Gescb.  u.  Cliarakteristik  d.  Jesuitor- 
dens.  Aiif  Grund  iingedr.  Aktenstiicke,  Nordlingen:  Beck.  1889. 
2  vols.  M.22.  Vol.  II,  398  pp.  contains  original  documents. 


77//-;  }rnDKRX  cirmcii.  239 

of  the  seventeenth  century,  through  Pascal  and  his  friends, 
this  doctrine  was  thrust  into  the  hackground.  Its  oppo- 
nents were  now  often  dubhed  Jansenists.  But,  in  1665, 
Pope  Alexander  YII  condemned  45  lax  opinions  of  casuists, 
and  opposed  Probahilism.  Innocent  XI,  lOTO,  condemned 
65  more  opinions,  and  the  Inquisition  considered  the  mat- 
ter. Now  sides  were  taken.  Since  1659,  the  Dominicans 
have  held  the  doctrine  of  ProJuibUiorism,  opposing  the  Pro- 
JuibUisDi  of  the  Jesuits.  The  Dominicans  were  followed  by 
Benedictines,  Trappists,  and  Capuchines,  who  denounced 
the  depravity  and  filth  ot  Jesuit  ethics. 

The  Jesuits  next  taught  that  Attrition,  i.e.,  repent- 
ance through  misery  of  sin  or  fear  of  punishment, 
sufficed  for  receiving  the  sacraments,  instead  of  Con- 
trition, which  meant  repentance  in  view  of  the  love 
of  God,  as  the  highest  good.  During  the  abolition 
of  the  Jesuit  Order,  Liguori  continued  the  teaching 
of  Probahilism  in  the  Redemptorist  Order.  Bossuet  led 
France  to  throw  off  such  doctrines,  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, till,  in  1829,  the  restored  Jesuit  Order  had  Liguori  de- 
clared a  saint,  and  in  1879,  a  Doctor  of  the  Church,  with 
Athanasius  and  Augustinus.  He  is  now  a  "mediator  be- 
tween heaven  and  earth."  His  views  ''are  accepted  in 
nearly  all  parts  of  the  Church,  and  almost  nil  father  con- 
fessors adopt  his  theories  in  the  confessional."  This  is  the 
theology  that  makes  sinning  easy.  A  seducer  under  prom- 
ise of  marriage  need  not  keep  his  word,  if  he  was  of  higher 
rank  and  the  girl  knew  it,  and  if  he  did  not  intend  to 
marry  her.  And  Leo  XIII  could  say,  in  1879,  "Liguori's 
ethics  offer  the  father  confessor  a  perfectly  safe  guide." 

In  1864,    Newman    could  not    help   saying,   "Liguor 


240  mSTOim  'A  L    TJIEOLOG  F. 

teaches  that  a  double  meaning  is  permissible,  if  a  just 
reason  exists.  I  will  express  myself  on  this  point  as  openly 
as  any  Protestant  can  wish.  I  confess  at  once  that  in  this 
domain  of  morality,  however  much  I  admire  the  good  sides 
of  the  Italian  character,  I  prefer  the  English  rule  of  life.'' 
The  Catholic  defence  of  Liguori  used  to  be,  that  he  wrote 
for  Italians ;  but  now  the  low  standard  of  morals,  the 
double  dealings  of  Jesuit  Ethics,  have  been  made  the  rule 
of  life  for  the  whole  Church !  Jesuit  and  Catholic,  terms 
long  distinguished,  are  now  identical.^  The  extermination 
of  Protestants  has  now  become  a  principle  of  action. 
Busenbaum,  a  Jesuit,  says  openly,  "when  the  end  is 
lawful  the  means  are  also  lawful."  Any  crime  may  be 
committed  "for  a  reasonable  cause."  Mariolatry,  a  Jes- 
uit doctrine,  is  greatly  promoted. ^  In  politics,  the  Jesuit 
views  are  followed  by  the  Church;  they  are  the  Infalli- 
bility of  the  Pope,  and  the  right  of  the  majority  of  the 
people  to  rule.  The  people  may  upset  any  government, 
but  they  must  obey  the  Pope.  The  policy  of  the  Papal 
Church  now  is  to  use  popular  governments  to  promote 
papal  Absolutism. 

Another  channel  of  Jesuit  activity  is  the  religious 
Congregations  of  the  Church.-^  It  is  remarkable  how 
the  female  Orders  have  increased,  since  about  1850. 
Between  1820-72,  male  Orders,  in  Prussia,  decreased 
from    20    to    18,    while     female     increased    from     22    to 


^Cf.  Eisele,  Jesuitismus  unci  Katlwlisismus.     Halle,  1888.  M.  4. 

-See  Kolb,  Wegweiser  in  die  Marianische  Literaiur.  Freiburg  i.  B. 
Herder,  1888.  M.  2.  Over  400  works  on  Mary  have  appeared  in  the 
past  40  years.  * 

»E.  Pfleiderer,  in  Deutsch-Emng.  BUHter.  1889.  H.  XI. 


77//;    MODEL'S    CIlURCll.  241 

67;  in  1SS8,  these  last  had  792  places,  with  over  7, (MIO 
members.  In  Bavaria,  wliere  the  Orders  were  aboHshed  in 
1S03,  they  have  grown  from  seven  houses,  in  1825,  to  620, 
in  1873,  of  which  ten  were  male,  and  twenty-two  female,  with 
1,094  male  to  5,051:  female  members.  In  Austria,  between 
1859-70,  monks  decreased  b}'  515,  while  nuns  increased  by 
1,708.  Elsewhere  similar  growth  is  seen.  Another  feature 
of  Roman  Catholic  methods  is  the  increase,  in  recent  times, 
of  Congregations  at  the  expense  of  the  Orders.  That  is, 
the  freer  bands  of  vrorkers  are  growing.  Of  the  six  classes 
entering  Germany,  only  two  are  Orders ;  the  other  four  are 
Congregations.  In  these  latter  the  vows  are  only  tempo- 
rary, and  the  members  are  free  to  do  all  sorts  of  mission 
work.  In  Prussia,  between  1830-73,  the  Orders  de- 
creased from  30  to  20,  while  Congregations  grew  from  12  to 
65,  and  of  the  65  Congregations  57  are  female.  In  Bavaria, 
about  90  per  cent  of  the  sisters  taught  schools  in.  IS'Jo. 
And  they  are  not  very  efHcient  teachers.  In  France,  of 
4,300  sub-teachers,  only  413  had  a  certificate  of  qualifi- 
cation, and  7,000  of  8,000  female  superintendents  had  no 
certificate. 

The  fruits  of  such  teaching  are  in  harmony  with  it. 
Brecht  shows^  the  criminal  statistics  of  Germany  per  100, 
000  as  follows  :  number  of  Protestants,  in  1882,  guilty  of 
serious  crimes  675  ;  in  1885,  the  average  was  675  ;  the  num- 
ber of  Roman  Catholics,  at  the  same  times,  was  773  and 
830.  In  those  four  years,  there  were  2,123  convictions  for 
perjury  in  thirty  millions  of  Protestants,  while  sixteen  mil- 
lions of  Catholics  had  1,509;  of  crimes  against  religion  the 
sixteen  milhons  committed  559,  while  the  thirty  millions 

^Papst  Leo  XIIl  and  der  Protestantismus.     Barmen,  18H8. 


242  JIISTOlilCAL     THEOLOGY. 

committed  only  462.  We  learn  also^  that  German  priests, 
between  the  ages  of  26-45,  46-65,  and  66-85,  died  in  ex- 
cess of  ministers  by  '^Q.S,  54,  and  17.7  per  cent;  a  striking 
commentary  on  the  life  of  the  cehbate  priesthood.  It  is 
also  worthy  of  note  that  while  the  normal  number  of  Pro- 
testant students  of  theology  in  Germany  is  1,320,  more 
than  twice  that  number  are  now  in  course  of  training, 
while  Catholic  Germany  has  not  produced  the  normal 
number  of  students  for  the  priesthood,  860,  by  49. 

VII.       THE    :\I0DERN    GERMAN    CHURCH. 

Lichtenberger,  in  his  work  on  modern  German  theol- 
ogy,^ finds  that  the  "evolution  of  religious  thought  in  Ger- 
many since  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  combined  with 
other  causes  not  less  powerful,  has  wrought  a  complete 
transformation  in  the  ideas,  manners,  and  institutions  in 
that  country."  A  chief  mark  of  this  transformation  is  "the 
gradual  substitution  of  the  principle  of  liberty  in  the  place 
of  the  principle  of  authority,  in  religious  matters."  Chris- 
tianity must  here  fight  Naturalism,  under  all  its  forms, 
and  in  its  development  pass  through  three  periods,  marked 
by  the  appearance  of  Lessing,  Schleiermacher,  and  Strauss. 
The  hrst  of  these  leaders  "proved  victoriously  that  Cliris- 
tianity  rests  neither  upon  the  authority  of  a  creed,  nor  even 
upon  that  of  the  Bible,  but  that  its  own  essence  suffices  to 


^Kamp  unci  Gollmer,  Die  Mortalitutsverhdltnisse  d.  geistl.  Standes 
nach  d.  Erfahrungen  d.  Lebensversicherungsbank  f.  D.  in  Gotha. 
Jena.  Fischer.  1888. 

^Histoire  des  Idees  religieu^eH  en  Allemagne  depuis  le  XVIIIe  Sif'cle 
jusqu' a  nos  jours.  Paris:  Fisclibaclier.  1888.  English  Translation. 
New  York:  Scribner  &  Welford.  1889.  $5.60. 


THE    MODERN   CHURCH.  243 

defend  it  and  make  it  accepted/'  Scliloiermacher  followed 
the  same  direction,  and  "founded  in  theology  the  method 
of  Christian  Individualism."  Strauss  was  a  destructive 
critic.  In  an  unsympathetic  way  Lichtenberger  finds 
present  orthodox  Lutheranism  marked  by  [1]  a  compro- 
mising solidarity  established  between  political  and  ecclesi- 
astical interests,  to  defend  throne  and  altar  against  all 
radicals;  [2]  by  a  distaste  of  Pietism,  "  which  it  puts  on 
the  same  level  with  Eationalism,  treating  both  under  the 
common  name  of  subjectivism  or  individualism;"  and  [3] 
by  holding  no  distinction  of  primary  aiid  secondary  doc- 
trines. This  school  goes  beyond  the  Confession,  he  says, 
and  corrects  the  Keformers'  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith 
alone,  by  exalting  the  visible  Church  and  the  sacraments. 
They  build  the  Church  rather  upon  baptism  imparting 
faith,  than  upon  faith  professed  in  baptism.  The  Protest- 
ant doctrine  of  a  universal  priesthood  is  pushed  aside  by 
the  theory  of  a  clerical  priesthood  ;  and  the  ordinary  church 
member  is  passive  in  the  presence  of  a  mediating  clergy 
and  sacraments.  Dorner  is  connected  with  the  Middle 
School,  of  whose  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  he  says,  "We avow 
in  all  humility  we  cannot  understand  it."  He  continues, 
"  Dorner  is,  in  our  opinion,  a  striking  example  of  the  radi- 
cal impotence  with  which  the  Mediating  Theology  is  smit- 
ten, for  it  pretends  to  reconcile  modern  thought  with 
Church  dogma,  without  abandoning  one  of  the  consecrated 
formulae."  It  looks  as  if  this  critic  is  unable  to  grasp  even 
all  that  is  true  and  intelligible  in  Dorner 's  theology. 

Of  the  Liberal  School  be  speaks  with  affection.  Its  aim 
is  "to  break  resolutely  with  what  is  past,  to  unmask  boldly 
the  errors,  illusions  and  sophisms   with  which  orthodoxy 


244  lllSTnlUCAL    rUEOLOGY. 

hides  itself,  tinally  to  combat  without  mercy  the  progress  of 
clericaUsm  of  every  sort,  and  thus  to  stop  this  fatal  reac- 
tionary movement,  which  threatens  to  rob  Germany  of  one 
of  the  chief  glories  of  its  history,  religious  freedom,  the 
sincerity  of  Christian  convictions."  He  finds  different 
groups  in  this  liberal  school  in  Germany ;  that  of  Jena, 
*'  more  scientific  and  less  aggressive,"  represented  by  Hase, 
Schwarz,  and  0.  Pfleiderer;  that  of  Berlin,  "devoted 
above  all  to  the  defence  of  the  Union";  that  of  Baden,  "to 
which  the  Protestant  Association  agitation  has  joined  it- 
self," led  by  men  like  Hausrath,  Schenkel,  and  Holtzmann ; 
and  that  of  Zurich,  the  most  radical  of  all,  associated  with 
Biedermann,  Schv;eizer,  and  Yolkmar. 

Amid  all  these  liberal  tendencies,  the  theology  of  Eitschl 
is  the  only  one  that  has  had  the  power  to  form  a  school, 
and,  in  both  historical  and  dogmatic  lines,  open  up  vistas 
that  have  attracted  a  compact  body  of  enthusiastic  in- 
quirers.^ Ritschl  makes  prominent  two  positions  respect- 
ing God's  revelation  of  himself:  "  God  is  love,  for  he  re- 
veals himself  through  his  Son  to  the  Church  founded  by 
Christ,  to  build  it  up  into  a  kingdom  of  God,"  and,  "All 
love  among  men  arises,  according  to  the  Christian  view, 
from  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ."  That  means,  as 
Pfleiderer  says,-^  that  the  love  of  God  is  limited  exclusively 
to  the  historic  Christian  congregation.  He  closes  his  crit- 
ique as  follows  : — "  Two  questions  occur  naturally  here.  If 
God  has  revealed  himself  as  love  only  in  Christ,  and  if, 
according  to  Piitschl's  teaching,  God's  being  is  only  love, 
and  all  his  revelation  is  only  revelation  of  this,  that  he  is 


^Cf.  Current  Discussions.     Vol.  VI.  1889,  pp.  263-269. 
^Jahrbiicher  fi'ir  Protestantische  Theologie,  April,  1889. 


THE    MODERN   CHURCH.  245 

love,  then  the  conchision  necessarily  follows,  that  before 
Christ,  there  was  no  revelation  of  God  at  all.  But  whence 
then,  I  ask,  had  pre-Christian  mankind,  or  if  the  heathen 
are  to  be  left  out  of  account,  w4ience  had  Israel  its  relig- 
ion, its  knowledge  of  God?  Did  they  all  grow  up  wild 
without  God?  In  that  case  it  follows  of  necessity  also  that 
the  consciousness  of  God  in  Jesus,  which  sprang  from  the 
prophets  and  the  psalms,  was  only  of  human  origin,  and 
consequently  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ,  the  only  one 
which  Ritschl  will  allow,  is  as  groundless  as  all  others. 
One  can  see  how  this  positivism  in  its  destructiveness  digs 
the  ground  from  under  its  own  feet.  If,  further,  all  human 
love  springs  from  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ,  and  if 
all  moral  communion  in  action  consists  in  love,  or  springs 
from  love,  then  the  conclusion  follows  of  necessity,  that 
before  Christ,  there  was  no  moral  communion  among  men. 
Whence,  then,  I  ask,  had  pre-Christian  mankind  all  that 
right,  and  ethics,  which  we  undeniably  find  among  heathen 
and  Jew^s  ?  Was  all  that  simply  a  product  of  social  sagac- 
ity and  calculating  utilitarianism,  i.  e.,  of  social  egoism? 
In  that  case,  we  would  reach  an  extension  of  the  principle 
of  Augustine,  that  heathen  virtues  are  but  splendid  vices ; 
we  w^ould  surpass  Augustine  himself.  But  Ritschl  is  so  far 
from  Augustine's  doctrine  of  original  sin,  that  he  will  not 
even  accept  a  natural  tendency  to  evil  in  man,  but  finds  in 
the  child  only  a  yet  undefined  impulse  towards  good.  Are 
we  to  say,  then,  that  this  highly  favored  human  nature,  in 
the  w^iole  period  before  Christ,  never  and  nowhere  attained 
to  anything  w'orthy  the  name  of  love  or  morality  ?  And  the 
people  Israel,  in  whom  the  thought  of  a  kingdom  of  God 
arose,  had  it,  also,  no  moral  communion,  never  any  action 


246  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

through  love  ?  All  the  warnings  and  consolations  of  the 
prophets  for  their  people,  all  that  did  not  spring  from  lov- 
ing hearts,  all  that  was  not  revelation  of  the  holy  love  of 
God,  simply  because  it  did  not  spring  from  the  revelation 
of  the  historic  Christ?  So  Eitschl  teaches  us.  In  that 
case,  the  Church  had  better  have  followed  the  Gnostic 
Marcion  and  put  the  Old  Testament  out  of  the  Bible,  for 
he  taught  about  the  same  as  these  necessary  consequences 
of  the  words  of  Eitschl.  If  Eitschl  will  not  accept  these 
consequences,  then  at  least  he  should  admit  that  his  the- 
ology is  full  of  contradictions  through  and  through,  and 
only  makes  itself  possible  by  everywhere  denying  and  sup- 
pressing the  conclusions  of  its  premises."  A  theology  that 
cannot  stand  its  own  conclusions,  Pfleiderer  adds,  should 
be  a  little  more  modest  in  claiming  to  be  the  only  pos- 
sessor of  "scientificness."^ 

Frank  thinks^  Eitschl  has  done  good  in  opposing  Pietis- 
tic  excesses  in  theology ;  in  showing  that  the  Atonement 
can  be  understood  only  by  doing  away  with  the  one-sided, 
or  mutual  contradiction  between  the  divine  and  human 
will ;  in  separating  from  Kant,  by  making  Eeligion  not  an 
appendix  to  Ethics  ;  in  holding  that  the  standard  of  the  sci- 
entific truth  of  Christianity  is  not  natural  religion  or  rea- 
son acting  in  innate  ideas ;  in  the  conviction  that  a  man 
must  share  the  faith  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Christ,  to 
do  justice  to  his  Person ;  and  in  teaching  that  the  possibil- 
ity of  a  proof  of  Christianity  depends  upon   ethical  pre- 


^Cf.  also  Graue,  Der  Moralismus  der  RitschVscher  Theologie,  in 
Jahrbb.  f.  Prot.  Theologie,  June,  1889. 

^ liber  die  kirchliche  Bedeutung  der  Theologie  A.  Ritschls.  Erlan- 
gen,  1888.     M.  I.  20. 


THE    MODERX    (Iirh'ClL  247 

conditions.  Hermann  thinks''  Kitsclil  also  "first  taught  us 
how  to  grasp  the  sum  total  of  Christianity  according  to  the 
principles  of  the  Reformation,  which  can  give  and  is  to 
give  to  the  practical  life  of  the  Evangelical  Church  its 
form ;  and  he  has  shown  that  this  Christianity  has  in  this 
alone  the  ground  of  its  certainty,  and  the  earnest  of  its 
truth,  that  we  are  by  it  raised  up  through  God's  revelation 
in  Christ,  and  that  the  possession  of  this  Christianity  is  for 
the  human  spirit  fashioned  for  moral  living,  life  in  the 
Eternal  one."  But  it  is  just  from  this  practical  side  that 
Frank  criticises  the  system  of  Eitschl  in  its  relation  to  the 
fundamental  facts  of  the  Christian  faith.  He  even  raises 
the  question  whether  "the  Evangelical  Christian  can  live 
should  this  theology  become  dominant  over  his  faith." 
Eitschl  thinks  "Protestantism  has  not  yet  left  the  period 
of  its  baby  sicknesses,"  for  its  practical,  fundamental  idea 
has  not  become  sovereign  in  all  the  lines  of  Christian  ac- 
tivity, especially  not  in  the  limitation  and  defence  of 
theology  against  useless  definitions.  Luther  himself  did 
not  understand  the  Reformation,  as  Ritschl  does.  In  his 
works  "lie  a  mass  of  theological  expositions,  in  which  the 
practical  points,  or  the  new  Reformation  ideal  of  life,  is 
left  out  of  view."  Neither  did  Melancthon's  theology  set 
forth  the  true  order  of  the  reforming  thoughts  of  Luther. 
The  weak  school  founded  by  Melancthon  was  not  a  true 
exponent  of  the  Reformation;  for  "the  reform  ideas  were 
more  concealed  than  revealed  in  the  theological  books  of 
Luther  and  Melancthon."  Frank  thinks  that  were  Luther 
told  that  he  did  not  understand  himself,  and  needed 
Ritschl  to  find  the  real   doctrines  of  the  Reformation  for 


'Review  of  Frank's  Essay,  in  Theolog.  Literaturzeitung,  1888,No.  23. 


248  niSrORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

him,  be  would  enter  a  protest  that  would  leave  no  doubt  of 
his  opinion  in  the  matter.  Luther  certainly  knew^  that  the 
doctrines  of  sin  and  grace  were  the  foundation  of  bis  the- 
ology, just  the  doctrines  so  put  in  the  background  by 
Ritschl.  And  this  central  teaching  kept  its  position  as 
such  in  spreading  the  Reformation.  Ritschl  makes  promi- 
nent the  idea  that  through  justification  and  atonement  w^e 
are  brought  to  a  confidence  in  God  which  is  a  power  in 
all  the  affairs  of  life,  and  which  raises  us  above  the  world. 
Frank  says  this  doctrine  is  true,  in  opposition  to  monkish, 
pietistic  flight  from  the  world ;  but  it  is  not  the  doctrine  of 
Luther  that  the  Christian's  blessedness  consists  in  victory 
over  the  world,  for  the  joy  of  the  Christian  springs  first 
from  unbroken  communion  with  God,  the  supreme  good,  and 
only  as  a  consequence  of  this  communion,  in  superiority 
to  the  world.  Ritschl  makes  communion  with  God  rather 
a  means  to  reach  dominion  over  the  world.  Hence  he  re- 
gards sin  as  not  in  itself  the  greatest  misery,  and  its  for- 
giveness as  not  the  chief  thing  for  man ;  it  is  rather  a  hin- 
drance to  man's  rule  over  the  w^orld.  He  thinks  God  can 
forgive  sin  without  a  Mediator  and  his  work  of  expiation. 
Forgiveness  is  a  matter  of  divine  will,  in  which  God 
chooses  to  remove  the  opposition  of  man,  and  turn  it  into 
communion,  that  the  progress  of  his  kingdom  may  not  be 
hindered.  The  restoration  of  the  kingdom  of  God  is  the 
final  end,  and  taking  aw^ay  sin  is  one  of  the  things  done 
incidentally.  ''The  higher  grounds"  upon  which  God  for- 
gives sins  are  considerations  respecting  the  progress  of  his 
kingdom.  Further  satisfaction  is  unnecessary,  for  God  and 
man  were  not  originally  in  a  reciprocal  relation  of  law, 
which  was  by  the  Fall  turned  into  a  relation  of  general  an- 


THE   MODERN   CHURCH.  249 

tagonism.  tSuch  views  are  extra-Christian,  he  says,  espe- 
cially the  false  idea  that  death  is  the  result  of  sin.  Paul's 
view  of  this  must  not  be  made  a  theological  rule  ;  it  is  not 
a  necessary  element  of  the  Christian  view  of  the  world, 
which  regards  death  as  neither  a  hindrance  of  blessedness, 
nor  an  object  of  fear,  because  of  Christ's  reconciliation  and 
resurrection. 

The  idea  of  rendering  personal  sacrifice  is  unscriptural. 
He  says  we  may  have  an  aesthetic,  but  not  a  theological 
interest  in  the  substitute  theory  of  Christ's  sufferings. 
Frank  well  remarks, ''  If  this  be  true  our  Church  is  in  a  sad 
case.  How%  then,  can  we  comfort  a  soul  sorrowing  because 
of  sin?  We  must  say,  Dear  Friend,  your  judgment  of  God 
is  wrong.  He  has  no  need  of  expiation.  For  higher 
reasons,  that  is,  to  realize  the  aim  of  the  world,  which  is 
also  an  end  in  itself,  he  forgives  sin.  Be  at  peace,  and 
do  not  torment  yourself  with  such  mediaeval  notions. " 
Eitschl  says  that  forgiveness  of  sins  is  not  a  personal 
matter.  It  is  a  delusion  to  think  "an  individual  can  draw 
from  the  fountain  of  grace  apart  from  the  Church.  "  He 
calls  faith  "an  assurance  of  the  value  of  the  gift  of  God  for 
man's  blessedness,  which  faith  takes  the  place,  through 
grace,  of  the  lack  of  confidence  felt  before  in  connection 
w^ith  the  feeling  of  guilt."  But  how  does  the  Church  get 
man  to  Christ?  Eitschl  answers  by  speaking  of  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  Church  and  the  operation  of  the  Word  and 
Sacraments,  but  does  not  become  very  specific. 

Of  the  conversion  of  the  individual  he  can  only  say : 
"  Nothing  further  can  be  taught  than  that  it  takes  place 
within  the  congregation  of  believers  through  the  constant 
work  of  the  gospel  and  the  specific  continuous  work  of  the 


250  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

personal  characteristic  of  Christ  in  the  congregation,  by 
which  in  the  individual  faith  in  Christ  and  trust  in  God  the 
Father  is  called  forth,  which  dominates  the  whole  view  of 
the  world  and  man's  self -judgment  while  the  consciousness 
of  guilt  because  of  sin  remains."  Not  very  simple  words 
for  an  inquirer.  Zahn  thinks^  the  discussions  about 
Eitschl's  theology  show  clearly  that  "the  new  Rationalism 
has  no  connection  with  the  Bible  and  the  Eeformation. " 
He  finds  Kaftan,  Dorner's  successor,  looking  for  a  new 
dogma,^  which  he  regards  as  the  dream  of  the  future. 
The  old  dogma  is  forever  gone  by ;  and  the  new  is  not 
yet  here.  "Then,"  adds  Zahn,  "we  are  pretty  badly  off 
at  present.  " 

The  difference  between  the  old  theology,  the  Biblical, 
the  Confessional,  and  the  new,  the  subjective,  the  rational- 
istic, Delitzsch^  sets  forth  as  follows :  The  one  starts  from 
man  fallen,  sinful,  God's  mercy,  Christ  the  Mediator  of  a 
restored  communion  with  God,  grace  the  name  of  God's 
action  for  us  and  to  us,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  free 
us  from  the  consciousness  of  guilt  and  the  ban  of  sin 
service.  The  Christian  life  cannot  begin  ;  there  can  be  no 
Christian  self-knowledge  except  in  the  recognition  of  the 
deep  antithesis  of  nature  and  grace ;  they  are  as  essen- 
tially opposite  as  world  and  God. 

The  other,  the  new  theology,  starts  by  softening 
down  the  sharpness  of  these  antitheses  so  as  to  make 
the    distinction   vanish.     "It    alters  the  essence    of  grace 


^Theolog.  Litemturblatt,  1889,  No.  22. 
^Glaube  unci  Dogma.     Bielefeld,  1889. 

^Der  Hefe  Grahea  zw.  alt.  Had  modern.     Thtologie.    Leipzig,    1888. 
English,  in  r/ie  Kcpo.s<7or,  Jan.  1889. 


THE    MODERN   CHURCH.  251 

and  makes  eveiything  nature.  This  is  the  deep  gulf 
which  parts  the  old  from  the  new  theology,  and  makes 
intercourse  impossible."  This  division  between  nature 
and  grace  reaches  the  very  center  of  the  Christians' 
life  in  his  struggle  after  holiness.  The  new  theology  does 
not  know  what  to  make  of  the  utterances  and  experience 
of  a  man  like  Luther.  Are  thsy  but  extravagances  ?  The 
new  theology  must  regard  experience  going  beyond  the 
realm  of  actuality  as  imaginary ;  it  is  by  its  suppositions 
unable  to  experience  and  personally  to  test  the  worth  of 
grace  in  the  soul.  This  theology  calls  communion 
with  God,  personal  fellowship  with  God  in  Christ,  a  mystic 
illusion  opposed  to  experience.  It  puts  for  this  a  medi- 
ate relationship,  effected  through  the  Church.  But  this 
is  contradictory  to  Scripture  (John  xiv,  23),  to  the  testi- 
mony of  believers  in  both  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and 
does  not  agree  with  historical  Christianity  in  referring  re- 
demption directly  to  the  Church,  and  only  indirectly  to  the 
individual.  This  reverses  the  true  relations.  It  weakens 
every  Biblical  conception ;  it  degrades  the  new  birth ;  it 
makes  the  sweetest  communion  with  God  mystical  and 
pietistic.  The  condition  of  the  Christian  as  a  new-born 
man  is  wanting  in  the  new  theology,  which,  in  rejecting  the 
metaphysical,  so  called,  uses  a  language  of  moral  shallow- 
ness when  relating  the  actual  facts  of  experience.  Such 
a  theology  is  not  the  historical  theology,  for  in  identifying 
grace  and  nature,  it  denies  the  reality  of  miracles;  "for 
miracle  has  grace  as  its  ground,  property,  and  province." 
The  miracle  of  grace  in  regeneration  involves  all  the  other 
miracles  of  redemption.  So  the  gulf  between  the  old  and 
new  theology  coincides  at  bottom  with  the  difference   be- 


252  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

tween  the  two  conceptions  of  the  world,  the  one  recognizing 
the  supernatural,  two  worlds  of  law  and  morals,  the  other 
holding  only  one  world  system,  that  of  natural  law,  with 
which  God  cannot  interfere.  Hence  the  new  theology  re- 
jects prayer,  as  having  any  effects  upon  external  events. 
Nay,  more ;  the  new  theology  goes  on  to  rob  us  of  our 
Easter  blessing,  and  says  the  "He  is  risen"  is  less  prob- 
able than  the  sneer  of  the  Jews,  "  His  disciples  stole  him 
away."  This  central  miracle  must  go  with  the  -i-est. 
There  is  no  compromise  possible  between  such  theologies ; 
we  must  choose  one  or  the  other.  Did  Christ  rise  ?  We 
must  answer.  Yes  or  No.^ 

Beyschlag  finds'^  the  weakness  of  the  present  German 
Church  to  be,  first,  its  disfavor  with  the  great  mass  of  the 
people,  and  next,  the  disorganizations  and  divisions  in  it. 
Think  of  twenty-six  different,  more  or  less  discordant  Prot- 
estant churches  in  Germany !  Then  all  the  theological 
parties  !  Beyschlag  pleads  for  comprehension.  He  says 
the  conservatives  hold  the  Church  is  a  society,  not  of  seek- 
ers and  questioners,  but  of  believers  and  confessors.  The 
liberal  party  is  too  busy  pulling  down  to  build  well.  The 
middle  school,  to  which  he  belongs,  has,  he  says,  a  great 
mission  for  unity  and  peace,  if  it  can  hold  the  positive 
truths  of  the  conservatives  in  the  free  spirit  of  the  liberals. 
This  school,  he  adds,  is  growing,  and  is  full  of  promise. 
The  old,  timid,  mediating  theology  is  past.  The  new  the- 
ology, which  tries  to  tear  faith  in  God  and  knowledge  of 
the  universe  apart,  is  only  a  transitory  thing,  for  there  is 


^Cf.  also  Kixbel,  CkriMlichenBedenken  nber  modern.  Christ LWesen, 
Von  einem  Sorgervollen.     Gixtersloh:  Bertelsmann,  1889. 
'Deutsch-Evang.  Blatter,  1889.     Hh.  VI,  &  X. 


THE    MODERN    CIirBl'IL  253 

really  only  one  truth  for  both  God  and  the  world.  The  lib- 
eral school,  rnnning  after  natural  science,  and  finding  only 
a  natural  history  of  Christianity,  is  in  danger  of  turning 
a  means  of  criticism  into  an  end,  and  landing  in  mere 
confusion.  The  movement  of  theology,  however,  since 
Schleiermacher,  has  been  towards  a  new  form  of  Christian 
doctrine,  which  has  grown  towards  a  living  theology  of 
faith,  and  not  of  unbelief.  The  field  of  Biblical  Theology 
is  especially  hopeful ;  it  is  "  a  green  field  just  sown  between 
Criticism  and  Dogmatism." 

Lipsius  emphasizes^  the  same  positive  movement  of 
liberal  theology,  in  opposition  to  Eome.  He  says  that  the 
position  of  this  theology  in  the  great  fundamentals  of  God, 
Christ,  and  the  way  of  salvation  is  one  with  that  of  the  con- 
servative. The  pantheistic  transformations  of  the  liberal 
theology  are  dying  out ;  and  the  personal  God,  the  heaven- 
ly Father,  in  whose  paternal  care  we  can  trust,  who  guar- 
antees his  children  a  personal  immortality  and  personal 
perfection,  is  grasped  with  increasing  clearness.  In  like 
manner,  he  says,  is  the  old  Lessing  theory  of  contrasts 
between  eternal  truths  of  reason  and  accidental  truths  of  his- 
tory, the  notion  that  the  idea  of  redemption  could  suffice, 
leaving  its  realization  in  Christ  an  open  question,  is  disap- 
pearing, and  the  knowledge  is  pressing  to  the  front  that 
salvation  can  be  found  only  in  the  fact  of  the  truly  Divine 
Man,  who  can  assure  sinners  as  well  of  divine  expiation  as 
he  can  the  holy  God  of  the  sanctification  of  them  that  are 
His,  only  in  faith  in  a  personal  Saviour,  in  whom  we  have 
the  perfect  revelation  of  eternal  love.  Beyschlag  assures 
us  that  "in  the  matter  of  the  way  of  salvation,  the  liberal 

^Deutsch-Evang.  Blatter,  1889,  H.  X.,  p.  706. 


254  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

theology,    in  its  best  representatives,   stands    throughout 
upon  the  fundamental  article  of  justification   by  faith." 

VIII.       THE    CHURCHES    OF    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

The  literature  of  the  past  year  adds  little  to  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  British  churches  since  the  Reformation.  Shaw 
distmguishes^  three  periods  in  English  Presbyterianism : 
first,  Ehzabethan  Presbyterianism,  or  Cartwrightism ;  sec- 
ond, Civil  War,  or  Covenant  Presbyterianism ;  and  third 
English  Presbyterianism  after  the  Savoy  Conference  and 
Act  of  Uniformity.  This  last  is  well  known ;  though  it  is 
to  be  observed  that  pure  Presbyterianism,  implying  (1)  a 
disciplinary  system  in  the  parish,  and  (2)  a  Church  system 
of  graduated  meetings,  classes,  synods,  etc.,  in  its  entirety 
is  not  to  be  met  with  at  any  particular  part  of  English  his- 
tory. The  first  two  appearances  were  sudden  and  tempo- 
rary, and  there  is  no  historic  continuity  of  a  Presbyterian 
party  through  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  and  first  half 
of  the  seventeenth  century  into  the  Presbyterianism  of 
post-Restoration  times.  The  paper  of  Shaw  proves  this 
statement  for  the  Presbyterianism  of  the  time  of  Elizabeth. 
It  was  one  of  the  many  outgrowths  of  the  Puritan  princi- 
ple, which  was  the  principle  of  spiritual  perception  as 
against  that  of  external  authority.  Until  Cartwright,  the 
Puritan  stream  flowed  in  protests  against  Romish  ceremo- 
nies retained;  now  a  new  element  came  in,  that  of  the 
Church  system.  "The  operative  impulse  in  this  unex- 
pected departure    was  from  Geneva,  and  the  immediate 


^Elizabethan   Presbyterianism,   in    The   Eng.    Hist.    Review,   Oct. 

1888. 


THE    MODERX    CrrrRCTL  255 

agent,  Thomas  Cartwriglit."  A  pure  Presbyterianism  of 
the  Geneva  sort  was  now  advocated,  to  a  degree  unap- 
proaehed  even  by  the  Westminster  Assembly.  The  movement 
had  its  center  in  a  body  of  the  clergy.  It  differed  from 
the  Separatist  Congregational  movement  in  allowing  the 
ministry  of  the  Church  of  England.  In  1590,  some  min- 
isters were  summoned  before  the  Ecclesiastical  Commis- 
sion, and  the  movement  came  to  an  end  in  five  or  six 
years,  for  lack  of  a  leader  and  organization,  and  because 
Puritanism  turned  to  fight  gross  immorality  in  the  seven- 
teenth century. 

Ward's  account  of  the  Tractarian  Movement^  gives  a 
picture  of  the  struggle  at  Oxford,  that  ended  in  the  seces- 
sion of  Newman  and  others  to  Eome.  Ward  was  among 
the  most  subtle  and  unscrupulous  of  all  the  Tractarians. 
He  sought  to  stay  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  yet  be  a 
Catholic  in  belief.  For  this  purpose  he  invented  the  theory 
of  subscribing  the  articles  in  a  "non-natural  sense."  While 
still  in  the  English  Church,  he  was  full  of  Jesuitical  casuis 
try,  and  openly  defended  such  mental  reservation  in  his 
book,  The  Ideal  of  a  Christian  Church.  Members  of  the 
Anglican  Church  might  hold  all  the  doctrines  of  Eomanism, 
even  to  belief  in  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Pope.  This 
last  teaching  the  High  Church  party  now  vigorously  reject, 
but  thereby  gain  standing  ground  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land to  preach  about  all  else  that  belongs  to  Eomanism. 

Turning  to  Scotland,  Sinclair  tells  us^  that  "  the  ice- 
bound Calvinism"  there  "is  practically  past."  This  re- 
sult has  been  reached  by  various  influences.     The  geolog- 

^  William  George   Ward   and   the    Oxford   Movement.  London,  1889. 
^The  Unitarian  Review,  March,  1889. 


256  IIISTOIUCAL    THEOLOGY 

ists  helped;  "they  struck  probably  the  first  effective  blow 
at  Bibiolatry  "  in  Scotland,  and  taught  that  the  Bible  is 
not  a  text  book  in  matters  of  science.  Dr.  Story  is  quoted 
as  a  representative  of  many  in  teaching  that  conscience- 
is  the  supreme  judge  of  truth,  "and  God's  revelation  in  it  a 
higher  revelation  than  that  in  the  Scriptures."  We  are 
assured  that  the  sentiments  of  the  community  at  large  are 
much  more  liberal  than  those  of  tlie  Church  Courts ;  they 
are  more  often  the  antipodes  of  those  in  presbyteries  and 
synods.  One  noticeable  change  in  theological  thought  can 
be  seen,  we  are  told,  in  the  doctrines  of  man's  fall  in 
Adam,  his  restoration  in  Christ,  justification  by  faith,  and 
the  terms  of  the  covenant,  being  passed  by  in  sermons,  in 
favor  of  a  loftier  morality  based  on  a  rational  Christianity. 
"The  Sunday  question  has  been  practically  settled; 
Church  worship  has  become  inspiring  and  attractive ;  the 
Bible  has  been  divested  of  a  superstitious  and  pernicious 
reverence ;  the  miraculous  is  no  longer  considered  an 
essential  element  in  religion  ;  the  doctrine  of  eternal  pun- 
ishment has  fallen  into  discredit.  The  fall,  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity,  the  Atonement,  are  regarded  as  mysteries  not 
involved  in  personal  religion."  In  much  of  this  Mr.  Sin- 
clair seems  to  speak  rather  for  himself  than  for  the  people 
of  Scotland. 

IX.       THE  AMERICAN  CHURCHES. 

Full  religious  liberty  is  the  first  great  contribution  which 
America  has  made  to  the  history  of  Christian  progress.  The^ 
struggle  through  the  ages  has  been  from  tolerance  to  liberty.^ 


^  Cf.    Schafif,    The    Progress  of  Relig.  Freedom,  in   Papers   of  the 
Amer.  Soc.  of  Church.  Hist.     N.  Y.  1889. 


THE   MODERN   CllUliCII.  2r^l 

Oonstantine  tolerated  Christianity  ;  then  came  the  Christian 
intolerance  of  the  Middle  ages  ;  the  Eeformation  gained  tol- 
erance for  Protestants  from  Eoman  Catholic  rulers,  which 
was  granted  in  turn  to  Non-Conformists ;  till  finally,  in 
America,  tolerance,  which  is  a  concession,  yielded  to 
liberty,  which  is  a  right,  and  all  religions  reached  a  land 
where  they  have  full  lef>al  equality.  In  an  im])ortant 
respect  this  religious  freedom  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  politi- 
cal freedom  whi  h  the  Puritan  founders  of  New  JBngland 
cherished  in  a  theocratic  spirit,  and  taught  the  Republic. 
The  Puritans  led  in  the  battle  for  religious  liberty,  and 
without  them  civil  liberty  would  probably  have  dropped 
from  the  world.  Fiske  finds^  the  Oriental  method  of 
national  growth  to  have  been  "conquest  without  incor- 
poration." The  Eoman  method  was  by  "  conquest  with 
incorporation,  but  without  representation." 

The  third  national  method  is  the  English,  which  "con- 
tains the  princijDle  of  representation."  War  was  an  essen- 
tial part  of  the  first  two ;  this  last  can  develop  by  peaceful 
means.  Of  this  free  method,  he  says,  Puritanism  is  the 
consummate  flower ;  for  by  it,  when  all  Europe  was  darkened 
by  despotism,  there  were  brought  the  intensest  religious 
convictions  into  the  support  of  national  liberty,  and  Crom- 
well triumphed  at  the  "most  critical  moment  in  history." 
Everywhere  else  the  Eoman  idea  was  dominant ;  here  alone 
the  English  idea,  in  the  hearts  of  Puritans,  battled  for  vic- 
tory. The  exodus  of  the  Puritans  to  America  bore  the 
English  idea  to  the  home  of  its  greatest  triumph,  and  pre- 
pared for  its  universal  sway.     This  idea  grew  among  .the 


1  The  Beg  inning  8  of  New  England.  Houghton,  Mi}irtiu,&  Co.  Boston. 
1889.  $2.00. 


258  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Lollards,  through  Wiclif  s  Bible,  through  Calvin's  theology, 
"which  left  the  individual  man  alone  in  the  presence  of  God," 
and  triumphed  with  Cromwell.  The  Puritan  ideal  was  the 
theocracy,  which  should  be  a  system  of  the  highest  ethical 
motives,  built  upon  the  Bible,  as  interpreted  by  reason. 
Every  man  must  be  a  theologian,  and  theological  discus- 
sions, in  New  England  as  in  Scotland,  bred  a  race  of  think- 
ers of  far-reaching-influence.  The  Puritans  regarded 
themselves  as  chosen  soldiers  of  Christ,  and  as  such  could 
upset  tj^rants,  and  in  a  most  practical  way  set  up  a  Chris- 
tian Eepublic.  They  were  not  theorists ;  with  Bible  in 
hand  they  could  unite  religious  fervor  with  the  English  love 
of  self-government,  and,  as  no  other  men,  give  rise  to  our 
modern  freedom.  But  there  was  an  element  of  intolerance 
in  these  Puritans ;  they  were  so  sure  that  they  were  right 
they  had  little  patience  with  those  that  differed  from  them. 
Their  stern  theology,  especially,  called  forth  opposi- 
tion. Among  the  forms  of  reaction,  from  1800  on,  was 
Universalism.  Foster  begins^  a  review  of  this  teach- 
ing with  Eelly,  who  held  that  as  in  Adam  all  died, 
so  all  are  made  alive  in  Christ.  Murray,  the  father 
of  American  Universalism,  adopted  this  position,  say- 
ing that  all  the  threatenings  of  the  gospel  belong  to 
the  domain  of  law,  which  was  abolished  through  Christ. 
Huntingdon  taught  that  the  divine  decree  of  election 
embraced  the  salvation  of  all  men ;  all  were  chosen  in 
Christ,  the  Son  of  Man,  and  through  union  with  him  all  will 
be  saved.  Winchester,  the  second  leader  after  Murray, 
joined  Universalism  to  Arminian  theology.     He  taught  a 


^  Eschatology  of  the  N.  England  D ivines,  in  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  Oct. 
1888;  Jan.  1889. 


THE   MODERN   CHURCH.  259 

period  of  punishment,  after  the  Day  of  Judgment,  which 
should  lead  to  the  restoration  of  all  men.  The  final  stage 
of  New  England  Universalism  was  reached  in  Hosea  Bal- 
lon. He  made  it  the  culmination  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement.  He  considered  sin  a  finite  evil,  a  violation  of 
a  law  in  the  mind,  "which  law  is  the  imperfect  knowledge 
men  have  of  moral  good."  The  legislature  prescribing 
this  law  is  "the  capacity  to  understand."  He  thinks  all  men 
will  be  saved  because  all  desire  it,  all  good  men  wish  it ;  if 
any  are  lost,  all  who  know  it  must  be  miserable  ;  this  world 
is  a  place  of  education  from  sin,  and  the  Bible  teaches  it. 
The  replies  of  New  England  divines  to  Universalism 
began  with  Smalley,  who  opposed  the  "union''  theory  of 
Eelly,  that  salvation  is  a  matter  of  necessity,  by  saying 
that  "eternal  salvation  is  on  no  account  a  matter  of  just 
debt,"  and  is  therefore  not  necessary.  He  brought  forward 
the  Grotian  view  of  the  Atonement,  now  called  the  New 
England  theory,  that  God  in  punishing  for  sin  did  not  act 
as  the  offended  party,  but  as  a  ruler ;  hence  the  atonement 
of  Christ  was  not  payment  of  a  debt,  but  a  penal  example 
making  forgiveness  consistent  with  the  authority  of  govern- 
ment, by  giving  the  sinner  no  right  to  forgiveness.  Thus 
Universalism  led  to  the  introduction  of  the  New  England 
theory  of  the  atonement.  The  syllogism  of  Relly  was : 
God  is  obliged  ni  justice  to  save  men  as  far  as  the  merit 

of  Christ  extends,  but  the  merit  of  Christ  is  sufficient  for 

I 

the  salvation    of  all  men ;    therefore,   God   is    obliged    in 
justice  to  save  all  men. 

The  new  theory  removed  the  major  premise  of  this 
syllogism.  Respecting  the  heathen  world,  Bellamy  and  the 
younger  Edwards  held  that  pagans  have  a  sufficient  pro- 


-260  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

bation  in  this  life ;  they  have  sufficient  motives  to  do  justly 
and  love  mercy;  it  is  their  pride  and  sin  that  prevent  the 
gospel  shining  among  them.  Christ  has  brought  all  men 
into  a  salvable  state.  Emmons  viewed  the  heathen  in  the 
light  of  election;  God  chose  to  withold  the  gospel  from 
them.  New  England  theology  has  followed  chiefly  the 
view  of  Bellamy  here.  After  1815,  when  Universalism  be- 
came identified  with  Unitarianism,  orthodox  replies  grew 
less  frequent,  for  the  danger  was  much  less.  The  extreme 
position  of  this  Eationalism  answ^ered  itself. 

Foster  finds  the  following  errors  in  Eschatology  al- 
ready buried  by  the  New  England  divines :  (1)  Misconcep- 
tion of  the  benevolence  of  God,  a  jMori  reasoning  on  it. 
The}^  held  that  divine  benevolence  must  get  its  character 
from  the  facts  of  the  universe  and  the  Bible.  (2)  The 
realistic  error,  which  makes  salvation  given  without  a 
special  act  on  the  part  of  God  or  man.  (3)  Errors  as  to 
the  Atonement.  (4)  Errors  as  to  man's  ability  to  repent. 
They  held  that  man  might  repent  without  the  gospel,  or 
the  historic  Christ  being  presented.  He  Avas  responsible 
for  the  light  he  had.  (5)  False  theories  on  the  meaning  of 
ai(0'^.  (6)  Various  wrong  interpretations  of  I  Peter  iii, 
18-20.  They  all  held  the  preacher  here  w^as  Noah.  (7) 
False  theories  of  probation.  The  reply  always  was  that 
probation  was  confined  to  this  life,  and  rested  entirely 
upon  statements  of  Scripture.  (8)  Theories  on  the  nature 
of  punishment,  that  it  was  unjust,  disciplinary,  &c.  The 
reply  w^as  drawn  from  the  nature  of  virtue.  (9)  Annihi- 
lation. 


'Zalin,  Abriss  einer  Geschichte  der  evangel.  Kirche   in  Amerika  im 
19  Jahrh.     Stuttgart:  SteiDkopf.  1889.  pp.   127. 


THE   MODERN   CHURCH.  261 

Coming  to  the  wider  field  of  American  Church  life 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  it  is  interesting  to  find  the  first 
outline  of  the  History  of  the  Protestant  Church  in  America, 
in  this  century,  written  by  a  German.^  He  finds  the  rapid 
national  growth  here  a  proof  that  "the  old  States  on  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Nile  did  not  require  such 
innumerable  centuries  to  produce  them."  American  relig- 
ious freedom  has  developed  a  Christian  worship  which  ex- 
ercises greater  influence  upon  the  souls  of  men  than 
the  worship  of  any  other  land.  Zahn  approves  of  the  Amer- 
ican principle,  which  makes  theological  seminaries  agree 
with  the  churches  supporting  them,  and  so  avoids  ''the  folly 
which  is  destroying  the  German  Church,  by  putting  Facul- 
ties and  churches  in  conflict ;  or  the  State  sides  with  the 
Faculties  against  the  Church." 

He  praises  the  liberality  of  these  free  churches.  He 
says,  between  1800-1888,  they  gave  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions §75,000,000,  for  Home  Missions  $100,000,000, 
and  for  Pubhcation  $150,000,000.  This  great  activity, 
intelligent,  persistent,  Zahn  agrees  with  Hodge,  in 
tracing  to  Calvinism,  whose  Kepublican  ideas  underlie 
American  methods.  Even  Lutherans  in  America  are 
under  these  influences.  Dr.  Walther,  their  ablest  leader, 
"must  finally  accept  predestination,"  and  "the  Episcopal 
system  is  everywhere  broken  by  the  independence  of 
the  local  church."  Gerberding,  an  American  Lutheran, 
however,  takes-  another  view  of  these  things.  He  thinks 
"the  bald  and  legalistic  Puritanism"  of  New  England  was 
unable  to  hold  its  own  children,   and  occasioned  the  unbe- 


^Zahn,  Ahriss  einer  Geschichte  der  evangel.    Kirche  in  Amerika  in 
19  Jahrh.     Stuttgart:  Steiakopf.     1889.     pp.  127. 
*See  The  Lutheran  Quarterly,  July,  1888. 


262  HltSTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

lief  and  "vagaries  of  schismatics  that  now  fill  the  region." 
If  the  Lutheran  Church  does  her  duty,  he  urges,  "she  will 
yet  redeem  New  England,  and  infuse  the  new  life  of  the 
pure  old  faith  into  its  dreary  intellectual  wa&tes."  For 
such  work  the  Lutheran  churches  in  America  should  unite. 
Some  of  the  chief  obstacles  to  such  union  he  finds  to  be 
hy^erorthodoxy,  mere  nominal  Lutheranism,  "personal 
grudges  and  animosities,"  the  "lifeless  formalism  of  many 
who  claim  to  be  rigid  Lutherans, "  a  false  pride  in  consist- 
ency, a  desire  to  please  leading  churches,  sectionalism,  and 
lack  of  loyalty  in  the  Lutheran  press. 

Returning  to  Zahn,  we  find  some  of  the  dark  spots 
in  American  life,  as  seen  by  him,  set  forth  thus:  "The 
horror  of  killing  the  fruit  of  the  body,  which  is 
practiced  just  in  Puritan  New  England,  and  causes  the 
Yankee  race  there  to  die  out,  the  daily  blood-red  calen- 
dars, the  corruption  of  boodler  officials,  the  brutal 
quarrels  of  profane  youth,  the  frequent  perjuries,  the 
too  free  intercourse  of  the  sexes,  the  lack  of  class  distinc- 
tions, and  in  many  things  a  superficiality,  crudeness, 
and  disproportionateness."  Amid  such  things,  he  sees 
in  the  American  Sunday  and  the  Bible  a  great  source 
of  blessing.  He  thinks  our  Church  activities  are  legal 
and  businesslike  in  their  methods.  "The  great  Metho- 
dist Church  is  entirely  a  Church  of  law,"  in  its  call  to  con- 
version, church  building — over  700  a  year —  and  claims 
to  perfect  holiness.  The  cry,  "We  must  do  something  for 
the  Lord,  because  He  has  done  so  much  for  us,"  is  too  often, 
he  says ,  taken  up  in  a  legal  spirit.  Largely  through 
America,  "English  is  the  predestined  language  of  the 
world."      But   the   vast   growth   in     material   wealth   he 


THE    MODERX    I'lirRCIT.  263 

considers  a  danger,  that  may  smother  the  American 
Church.  The  worldly  spirit  so  seizes  the  German  Amer- 
icans that  only  ten  out  of  fifty  go  to  church,  and  only  one 
goes  regularly.  In  the  Episcopal  Church  here  ''the 
aristocracy  of  birth  and  money  gathers"  followers. 

Coming  to  the  rationalistic  churches  of  America,  we 
find  their  weaknesses  summed  up  by  Griffin^  as  laxity  of 
fellowship,  the  passion  for  entertainment  in  the  pulpit,  an 
excess  of  amateur  philosophizing,  a  spirit  of  compromise, 
which  takes  all  meaning  out  of  the  minister's  message 
through  fear  of  man,  and  a  lack  of  the  missionary  spirit. 
He  later  raises  the  question,  why  Unitarians  do  not  plant 
Sunday-schools  and  churches  on  the  frontier  like  others. 
He  finds  the  chief  reason  in  lack  of  Unitarian  ministers, 
and  ''partly  because  no  ism  is  so  susceptible  of  misstate- 
ment." He  suggests  loaning  pastors,  able  men,  to  start 
missions  in  the  West.  Controversy  must  be  avoided, 
Crooker  pleads^  for  a  training  school  for  Unitarian  minis- 
ters in  the  North-West.  It  ought  to  be  situated  "  in  the 
very  shadow  of  some  great  secular  or  State  University." 
He  recommends  Madison,  Wis.,  because  of  locality  and 
library  facilities,  and  because  "the  hospitality  of  the  State 
University  to  the  type  of  thought  which  we  represent  is  ex- 
ceptionally generous."  It  is  said  that  the  educated  Germans 
and  Scandinavians  of  the  North- West  are  increasingly  in- 
clined towards  Unitarianism.  They  find  in  it  not  only  a 
variety  of  rationalistic  tendencies  from  which  to  choose, 
but,  the  German  especially,  meet  many  currents  of  free 
thought  which  have   come  directly  from  their  own  lands. 


^The  Unitarian  Review,  Sep.  1888. 
Ubid.  Dec.  1888. 


264  HTSTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Allen  finds^  this  new  element  in  Unitarianism  first  clearly 
recognized  in  Norton's  address,  1839,  on  *'  The  Latest  Form 
of  Infidelity." 

Three  great  departments  of  this  foreign  thought  can 
be  distinguished  :  first,  the  Transcendental  influences,  com- 
ing from  Schleiermacher  and  Hegel.  This  speculative  the- 
ology affected  men's  whole  way  of  looking  at  religion. 
Then  a  more  gradual  movement  appeared  going  back  to 
Lessing.  Critical  theology  came  and  gave  rise  to  men  like 
Noyes,  Hedge,  Th.  Parker,  James  Freeman  Clarke,  against 
the  protest  of  the  conservatives,  led  by  Prof.  Norton.  The 
third  tendency  may  be  called  "the  German  theology  of 
Erudition."  Before  German  thought  touched  Unitarianism, 
it  was  provincial,  content  to  be  an  influence,  beginning  to 
"ossify"  ;  the  new  influence  revived  it ;  and  the  confidence 
of  the  spirit  in  itself,  we  are  told,'-^  looked  towards  the  new 
teaching.  The  Transcendental  movement  had  as  its  most 
characteristic  feature  that  it  took  its  rise  among  men  "  at 
once  highly  impressionable  and  broadly  cultivated."  Cole- 
ridge was  influencing  young  minds  in  New  England,  trans- 
mitting thoughts  also  of  Fichte  and  Schelling.  All  this 
was  an  "  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and  spiritual  ferment,  not 
a  strictly  reasoned  doctrine."  Emerson  led  in  the  move- 
ment, laying  stress  on  inward  recognition ;  he  was  op- 
posed by  Norton,  who  stood  for  miracles  and  external 
authority. 

Tiffany  thinks  the  root  idea  of  New  England  Transcen- 
dentalism was  the  competency  of  the  mind  itself  to  recog- 
nize spontaneously  what  is  good  and  divine  in  life.    It  was 


Uhid.  Jan.  1889. 
^Tiffany,  Ih.  Feb.  1889. 


rJIE    MODERN    CUVnCIl.  265 

the  Absolute  Imperative  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
Allen  says  that,  among  other  things,  this  German  influ- 
ence led  Unitarianism  to  give  up  "  Christianity  as  a  spe- 
cial and  supernatural  revelation."  Miracles  are  now  given 
up,  and  the  Bible  explained  accordingly.  He  says,  "  With- 
in these  fifty  years,  1839-89,  many  of  us  have  had  thrust 
onus.  .  .  .first-hand  testimony  from  believers  of  facts  as  dis- 
tinctly miraculous  as  anything  in  the  New  Testament ....  yet 
we  know  perfectly  well  that  such  testimony,  however 
vouched,  would  not  stand  one  hour  in  any  civilized  court 
of  justice,  and  so  we  quietly  lay  it  by,  whatever  be  our 
private  opinion  of  its  validity.  It  is  just  so  with  our  treat- 
ment of  the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament.  Thousands 
among  us  receive  them  with  the  same  faith,  comfort  and 
reverence  as  of  old,  but  belief  in  them  is  not  made  a  line 
of  Christian  fellowship." 

These  free  churches  lay  little  stress  upon  doctrines, 
but  put  much  emphasis  on  the  moral  life  and  beneficence. 
And  yet  a  recent  Unitarian  writer^  declares  that  he 
knows  an  orthodox  church  which  gives  for  general 
religious  work  ten  times  as  much  as  its  rich  Unitarian 
neighbor;  and  he  thinks  such  cases  are  not  excep- 
tional. There  seems  to  be  a  movement  in  this  school  of 
liberal  theology  towards  thorough  self-criticism,  and,  conse- 
quently, towards  more  positive  beliefs  and  a  more  deter- 
mined effort  to  spread  its  teachings  and  methods.  Har- 
vard College  is  becoming  more  conservative ;  while,  strange 
to  say,  Yale  is  charged  with  growing  liberalism.  The 
Methodist  Keview^  accuses  it  of  being  "  the  headquarters 

^The  Unitarian  Review.     Jan.  1889. 
^Sept.-Oct.  1889. 


266  HISTORICAL    THEOLOGY. 

of  American  Bationalism."  We  are  told  "it  produces 
naore  rationalistic  literature  than  any  other  institution  in 
the  land,  and  thus  determines  the  issue."  Professors 
Ladd,  Kussell  and  Harper  are  named  as  leaders  in  this 
rationalistic  departure.  The  first  two  teachers  are  charged 
with  "  unbelief  respecting  miracles."  Professor  Ladd  re- 
plies,^ "  I  have  never  written  or  taught  orally  one  word  in 
denial  of  the  Supernatural  and  miraculous  origin  and  char- 
acter of  biblical  religion."  The  Reviewer  calls  this  state- 
ment "literary  sophistry,"  because  "the  biblical  religion 
is  not  the  subject,"  and  continues,  "We  challenge  Prof. 
Ladd  to  say  that  he  accepts  the  supernatural  and  miracu- 
lous origin  and  character  of  the  biblical  books." 

The  Centenary  (18 89)  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Episco- 
pate in  America  has  called  attention  anew  to  the  growth  and 
power  of  that  Church  in  this  country.  It  has  now  abou^ 
8,277,039  followers  in  America  (so  Sadler's  Directory  for 
1890),  but  that  is  a  small  number,  compared  with  the 
number  of  Catholics  who  have  come  to  America.  McEl- 
rone,  a  member  of  that  faith,  thinks"-^  there  are  12,000,000 
Catholics  in  this  country,  of  whom  8,000,000  are  of  Irish 
descent.  But,  he  says,  there  should  be  15,000,000  of  such 
Cathohcs.  No  less  than  7,000,000  have  been  lost.  He 
thinks  the  chief  cause  of  loss  is  "  lack  of  organization." 


The  Christian  Advocate.   July  4,  1889. 
■The  Independent.    June  6,  1889. 


SYSTEMATIC   THEOLOGY. 


PRESENT    STATE 

OF 

Studies  m  Natural  aid  Revealed  Theology. 

BY 

REV.  GEORGE  NYE  BOARDMAN, 

Peofessor  of  Systematic  Theology^ 

IN 

Chicago  Theological  Seminaey. 


PEESENT   STATE  OF  THEOLOGICAL  DISCUSSIOX. 

A.      PUBLIC  DISCUSSIONS, 

The  unrest  of  the  theological  world,  noticed  in  the  last 
number  of  Current  Discussions,  has  increased  during  the 
last  year.  There  has  been  no  lack  of  material  sent  forth 
from  the  press  by  those  interested  in  the  topics  under  de- 
bate. But  thought  has  found  its  expression  in  newspa- 
per articles  or  in  magazine  essays  rather  than  in  treatises 
of  comprehensive  form  and  of  permanent  value.  A  year 
ago  there  were  several  large  works,  issued  by  prominent 
publishing  houses,  inviting  attention ;  of  late  we  have  had 
only  treatises  on  subordinate  topics.  The  year  has  indeed 
produced  some  works  of  interest,  notably  the  lectures  of 
Professor  Mead  on  Supernatural  Eeligion,  but  we  have  no 
works  before  us  of  the  broad  compass  of  Shedd's  Theology  or 
Bohl's  Dogmatik,  unless  it  may  be  the  work  of  Kedney,  to 
which  we  shall  call  attention,  but  which  really  belongs  to 
the  year  preceding  that  now  under  reviews 

Before  taking  up  specific  publications,  it  will  be  well, 
if  we  would  at  all  adequately  survey  the  state  of  the- 
ology in  the  year  1889,  to  take  into  consideration  the  pub- 
lic sentiment  on  theological  questions.  What  are  tha 
themes  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  preachers  and  of  church- 
men, of  zealous  Christian  workers,  and  of  the  wise  coun- 
sellors in  the  Christian  community  ?     What  seems  the  aim 


•270  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

of  the  age  ?  Towards  what  are  the  churches  drifting  ? 
These  questions  cannot  he  answered  very  definitely ;  but 
there  are  some  facts  wliich  amount  to  an  approximate 
reply  to  them. 

1.      The   CongregafionaUsts. 

There  are  many  causes  combining  to  throw  this  de- 
nomination into  a  ferment.  The  considerations  demand- 
ing attention  are  so  many  that  it  is  impossible  to  draw 
party  lines ;  persons  may  agree  on  one  point  who  differ  on 
another.  It  may  also  be  said  that  the  questions  in  dispute 
are  of  such  a  character  that  there  ought  not  to  be,  proba- 
bly will  not  "be,  any  rupture  of  denominational  lines.  All 
differences  ought  to  be  settled  within  the  denomination. 
The  ultimate  question  about  w^hich  interest  will  finally 
centre  and  opinions  will  be  finally  tested,  will  very  likely 
be  that  of  polity.  The  points  in  dispute  here  probably 
will  not  be  as  to  the  original  structure  of  the  denomination, 
but  as  to  the  extent  of  its  power. 

A  brief  notice  of  events  which  have  led  to  the  present 
state  of  affairs  will  set  the  subject  in  a  clearer  light  than 
a  description  in  abstract  terms.  Some  years  ago  a  few 
prominent  Congregationalists  proclaimed  themselves  ad- 
herents of  the  doctrine  of  future  probation.  They  thought 
by  the  aid  of  this  doctrine  a  satisfactory  theodicy  might 
be  constructed,  while  under  the  present  current  theology 
of  the  denomination  the  justice  of  God  and  the  state  of  sin- 
ful men  could  not  possibly  be  reconciled.  The  theory  itself, 
however,  has  received  but  very  little  advocacy.  Whether 
important  or  unimportant  its  adherents  have  made  very 


PUBLIC    DISCUSSIONS.  271 

little  attempt  to  enlighten  the  world  by  means  of  it.  They 
have  rather  concealed  than  displayed  the  form,  the  grounds, 
the  probable  effects  of  the  doctrine.  They  have  assumed 
an  altogether  negative  position  and  have  thrown  them- 
selves wholly  into  the  attitude  of  defence.  The  demand  has 
been  that  those  who  hold  the  doctrine  of  future  probation 
should  be  still  accepted  as  teachers  and  pastors  in  good 
and  regular  standing  among  Congregationalists.  The  or- 
ganization before  which  this  demand  has  been  most  dis- 
tinctly made  and  openly  brought  to  an  issue  is  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  The  friends  of  the  New 
Departure,  as  it  is  called,  have  insisted  that  their  peculiar 
views  ought  not  to  be  a  bar  to  missionary  appointment. 
In  this  position  they  are  sustained  by  many  who  have  no 
sympathy  with  their  doctrinal  opinions.  Rut  the  Board 
has  decided  that  it  ought  not  to  take  action  that  would  in 
any  way  countenance  the  doctrine  in  question. 

Persevering  and  earnest  efforts  have  been  made  to 
secure  a  reversal  of  this  decision  or  a  disregard  of  it.  The 
theory  of  future  probation  has  been  represented  as  a 
dogma  not  a  doctrine,  a  hypothesis  not  an  open  position, 
a  resort  for  those  having  personal  doctrinal  difficulties, 
not  the  basis  of  a  satisfactory  theodicy,  as  was  at  first 
claimed.  On  the  other  hand,  attempts  have  been  made  to 
overbear  the  Board  and  its  executive  officers  by  public 
opinion,  by  exciting  sympathy  for  missionary  candidates 
who  failed  of  appointment,  and  by  effecting  a  change  in 
the  membership  of  the  Board.  The  Board  is  a  close  cor- 
poration and  fills  its  own  vacancies.  Members  cannot  be 
imposed  upon  it,  therefore,  from  without.  But  it  has  no 
reason  for  existence  except  to  serve  the  churches  in  carry- 


272  SYSTE3IATIC    THEOLOGY. 

ing  forward  missionary  work  by  employing  as  missionaries 
the  men  furnished  by  the  churches. 

The  question  naturally  rises  whether  the  churches  have 
not  the  right  to  appoint  their  own  agents.  And  it  is  fur- 
ther asked,  whether  it  is  not  their  duty  to  appoint  their 
own  agents  and  to  hold  them  to  a  strict  account.  Before 
these  questions  are  answered  another  rises,  whether  the 
Congregational  churches  can  appoint  missionary  agencies 
and  sustain  them  as  a  part  of,  or  an  appendage  to,  their 
ecclesiastical  organizations. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  the  topic  touches  systematic 
theology.  We  have  in  former  volumes  of  Current  Discus- 
sions noticed  the  new  departure  doctrines.  The  methods 
to  be  adopted  in  the  management  of  the  Board  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  Missionaries  have  no  connection  with  this  de- 
partment of  Current  Discussions,-  but  Church  polity  is  one 
of  the  themes  that  may  be  treated  here,  and  the  relation  of 
the  Congregational  polity  to  Boards  of  missionary  labor  is 
exciting  present  interest.  Some  maintain  that  the  Board 
is  now  in  reality,  and  should  be  in  form,  the  creature  of 
the  churches.  Others  have  favored  the  formation  of  new 
Board  by  the  churches.  Some  would  have  the  Board  fill 
its  own  vacancies  in  accordance  with  its  present  charter, 
but  adopt  the  method  of  selectmg  its  members  from  nomi- 
nees presented  by  churches  or  by  organizations  represent- 
ing churches.  This  topic  was  ably  discussed  about  fifty 
years  ago ;  but  the  succeeding  half-century  has  obliterated 
the  arguments  of  that  day  and  the  present  generation  will 
need  to  repeat  the  debate.  We  shall  not  here  consider 
the  merits  of  the  case,  but  merely  bring  forward  some  of  the 
items  that  enter  into  the  discussion. 


rrnrAc  discussions.  278 

1.  The  Board  as  now  constituted  is  not  in  any  sense 
an  ecclesiastical  body.  It  was  not  organized  to  fullill  the 
wishes  of  the  churches,  but  to  afford  certain  young  men  an 
opportunity  to  fulfill  their  desires  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
the  heathen.  The  General  Association  of  Massachusetts 
appointed  nine  commissioners,  of  whom  five  afterwards  met 
and  organized  themselves  into  a  Board.  About  two  years 
later  this  Board  was  made  a  legal  corporation  by  the  leg- 
islature of  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  The  Association 
did  not  represent  the  churches  in  this  act,  had  not  been 
charged  with  that  duty,  but  merely  designated  men  who 
might  form  themselves  into  an  organization  to  forward 
missionary  work  if  they  chose.  The  Board,  when  formed, 
encouraged  young  men  to  preach  the  gospel  in  foreign  parts, 
and  appealed  to  the  churches  to  furnish  the  funds  needed 
for  the  undertaking.  The  churches  iiave  responded  to  its 
call  and  cherished  it  as  a  useful,  perhaps  we  might  say,  a 
divinely  appointed  organization,  but  have  never  claimed 
it  as  organically  dependent  on  themselves. 

2.  The  Board  is  not  an  agent  of  ecclesiastical  bodies  of 
any  kind.  It  is  a  self-constituted  agency  offering  itself  as 
an  intermediary  by  which  the  missionary  forces  of  this 
country  may  be  made  effective  in  unevangelized  lands.  It 
is,  in  fact,  far  more  than  this ;  it  has  become  among  Con- 
gregationalists  the  primal  missionary  force,  the  fountain  of 
missionary  zeal,  the  source  of  influences  by  which  the 
churches  have  been  roused  to  the  conviction  that  they 
were  under  obligation  to  spread  the  light  of  the  gospel ;  but 
this  accumulation  and  movement  of  its  energies  has  not 
come  through  any  ecclesiastical  connections. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  missionary  interest  of  the  churches 


274  SYSTE2IATIC    THEOLOGY. 

is  the  result* of  efforts  made  by  the  Board.  Where  it  sends 
agents,  there  it  generally  secures  contributions  ;  where  it  does 
not  send,  contributions  are  too  often  uncertain.  There  are 
many  churches  which  contribute  occasionally  to  the 
Board ;  the  number  of  those  which  never  fail  is  small.  It 
cannot  therefore  be  an  ecclesiastical  force  that  moves  the 
Board  or  in  any  way  constitutes  it  a  servant  of  the 
churches. 

3.  It  is  perfectly  in  accord  with  Congregationalism  to  em. 
ploy  agencies  which  are  not  ecclesiastical  for  the  perform- 
ance of  Christian  work.  Each  local  church  is  complete  in 
itself,  and  its  ecclesiastical  force  cannot  therefore  reach  to 
foreign  lands.  A  local  church  must  work  through  an 
agency  not  a  constituent  part  of  itself,  if  it  is  to  work  in  a 
distant  field.  But  it  has  a  right  to  support  and  pray  for 
an  agency  performing  a  desirable  work  which  it  cannot  do. 
It  may  encourage  a  temperance  society,  or  an  education 
society,  or  a  hospital,  without  demanding  that  they  adopt 
any  kind  of  an  ecclesiastical  structure.  In  the  same  way, 
it  may,  without  impairing  its  own  integrity  or  failing  in  the 
completeness  of  its  form,  employ  a  fit  organization  to  do 
Christian  work  in  foreign  lands.  It  may  entrust  its  money 
or  its  men  to  another  organization  to  be  employed  by  it, 
without  thereby  renouncing  its  Congregationalism.  The 
strict  ecclesiastical  force  of  a  Congregational  church  is  con- 
fined to  those  who  have  entered  into  covenant  with  that  or- 
ganization ;  the  ecclesiastical  element  in  associations  and 
councils  is  derivative  and  dependent  on  custom. 

4.  The  Congregational  churches  have  no  power  to  form 
a  Board  of  Missions  which  shall,  from  its  origin  and 
structure,  have  a  claim  upon  all  the  churches.     There  is 


PUBLIC   DISCUSSIONS.  275 

no  Congregational  church  embracing  all  the  churches,  or 
any  number  of  different  churches.  The  churches  might 
all  enter  into  an  agreement  to  support  a  certain  organi- 
zation, but  any  one  could  withdraw  at  its  will.  The 
members  of  a  church  could  not  bind  their  successors  to 
support  any  organization  unless  they  delivered  a  consid- 
eration with  the  obligation.  Christian  fellowship  does  not 
bind  different  churches  to  the  same  methods  of  Christian 
labor.  Fellowship  has  no  coercive  power;  that  belongs 
to  the  covenant  of  the  local  church.  The  National  Council 
— the  best  representative  of  the  churches  at  large — has  no 
authority  over  the  churches ;  its  existence  depends  on  dis- 
claiming any  such  authority.  It  could  not  form  a  board 
or  committee  having  more  authority  than  itself.  Several 
churches — few  or  many — might  establish  a  missionary  or- 
ganization and  it  might  displace  the  American  Board  in 
its  work  for  the  churches,  but  it  would  not  be  an  ecclesias- 
tical body,  and  would  draw  to  its  support  only  those  who 
should  choose  to  adopt  it. 

5.  The  Board  has  a  character  of  its  own.  It  has  a 
name,  a  charter,  possesses  property  and  has  the  powder  of 
self-continuance.  The  churches  have,  therefore,  no  power 
to  destroy  it.  It  is  wholly  outside  the  range  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal forces.  It  might  be  less  employed  than  it  is  at  present, 
might  be  so  forsaken  that  the  continuance  of  its  existence 
would  be  inexpedient,  but  it  would  still  be  a  reality ;  and 
the  employment  of  rival  organization  for  a  time  would  not 
put  it  out  of  existence  nor  render  improbable  a  final  return 
to  its  support  by  many  of  the  churches. 

There  are  still  other  questions  of  polity  before  the  Con- 
gregationalists,  but  none  that  excite   the   interest  that  is 


276  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

connected  with  their  relation  to  the  benevolent  societies. 
The  relation  of  the  churches  to  associations  is  an  unsettled 
topic  of  discussion.  The  denomination  is  spread  over  such 
an  extent  of  territory  that  the  denominational  standing  of 
a  minister  needs  some  other  attestation  than  that  of  a  local 
church,  which  might  often  be  an  obscure  and  unknown 
church.  If  an  association  is  to  furnish  the  desired  creden- 
tials, to  what  shall  it  testify  ?  x\nd  how  long  shall  it  be 
responsible  for  the  testimony?  Shall  it  report  supposed 
facts  or  ascertain  facts  and  report  them  ?  If  associations 
are  made  indispensable  parts  of  the  denominational  organi- 
zation, are  they  thereby  to  acquire  an  ecclesiastical  stand- 
ing ?  Can  a  church  be  Congregational  and  have  no  connec- 
tion with  an  association  ?  If  associations  are  necessary  to 
the  system,  does  not  Congregationalism  cease  to  be  the 
polity  of  the  New  Testament?  These  are  some  of  the 
questions  under  discussion  at  the  present  time. 

2.     The  Presbyterians. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  is  in  a  ferment  more  general 
than  that  of  the  Congregationalists.  It  is  agitated  over 
the  question  of  a  new  creed,  or  a  revision  of  the  old  one. 
Fifty  years  ago,  it  was  divided  into  two  bodies  over  the  the- 
ological questions  now  before  it,  though  a  change  of  the 
creed  was  not  thought  of.  About  twenty  years  ago,  the  old 
and  new  school  united  on  the  basis  of  the  old  standards. 
At  that  time  a  suggestion  of  tolerance  of  New^  England 
theology  was  frowned  upon  as  an  impertinence.  Now,  the 
proposition  of  some  is  to  substitute  certain  New  England 
doctrines  for  some  of  those   of  the  standards.     The  out- 


PUB  Lie    DISCUSSIONS.  277 

come  of  the  movement  is  uncertain ;  but  when  important 
presb3'teries  debate  the  subject  day  after  day,  and  the 
leading  men  of  the  denommation  are  divided  in  opinion, 
it  is  natural  to  infer  that  the  entire  church  will  be  affected 
by  the  discussion.  The  aim  of  the  agitators  will  be  under- 
stood when  it  is  stated  that  the  effort  is  to  bring  the  creed 
of  the  church  into  accord  with  popular  preaching,  and  that 
the  popular  preaching  has  of  late  drawn  upon  the  Ar- 
minian  vocabulary. 

It  is  not  two  years  since  Professor  Shedd  published  his 
Dogmatic  Theology  (noticed  in  last  year's  Current  Discus- 
sions). He  confessedly  set  out  in  his  speculations  from 
the  Calvinistic  theology  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  He  holds  that  the  thinkers  of  that  age  were 
more  profoundly  theological  than  later  writers  have  been, 
that  the  thinking  of  that  age  was  more  akin  to  religious 
truth  than  the  thinking  of  the  present  age  is.  His  two 
large  volumes  seemed  to  connect  Presbyterian  theology 
with  the  Pieformed  doctrines  as  they  were  stated  before  the 
rise  of  Arminianism.  But  his  work  was  promptly  reviewed 
by  those  who  believe  that  the  present  century  has  more 
wisdom  than  the  sixteenth,  and,  within  a  year  from  the 
publication  of  his  work,  the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly 
sent  down  to  the  presbyteries  the  question  whether  they 
desired  a  revision  of  the  creed.  It  w^ill  be  readily  seen, 
then,  that  there  are  differences  of  sentiment  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church. 

The  criticisms  upon  Professor  Shedd's  work  rather  con- 
firm than  refute  his  position  that  the  early  Keformed  the- 
ology is  more  theological  than  the  later.  Professor  Morris, 
maintaining  the  superiority  of  the  modern  Calvinism,  says : 


278  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

"It  is  the  old  Calvinism,  less  closeh^  organized  around 
certain  philosophical  propositions,  with  larger  biblical 
rather  than  s  )eculative  quality,  allowing  wider  varieties  of 
statement  and  explanation,  less  relentless  towards  opposi- 
tion, exhibiting  broader  and  stronger  modes  of  defence  at 
points  where  it  was  found  most  vulnerable,  and  possessing 
all  in  all  many  fresh  elements  of  persuasiveness  and 
power."  Traducianism  and  decrees  are  instanced  as 
points  at  which  broader  and  stronger  modes  of  defence 
have  been  introduced,  and  the  reviewer  presents  the  se- 
ries of  substitutes  for  tradueianism  which  hav3  been 
devised.  But  he  will  hardly  claim  that  scientific  theology 
has  been  advanced  by  them  when  he  closes  the  topic  with 
this  question :  "  And  is  it  not  much  more  probable  that 
the  Calvinistic  teachers  of  this  century  and  of  succeeding 
centuries,  instead  of  returning  to  this  venerable  yet  em- 
barrassing theory,  will  either  cling  to  their  later  hypothesis, 
or  perchance  invent  some  other,  or  possibly  rest  at  last 
upon  the  simple  fact,  as  revealed  alike  in  Scripture  and  in 
experience,  confessing  themselves  unable  to  penetrate  its 
unfathomable  mysteries  ?  "  On  the  subject  of  decrees  the 
conclusion  to  which  Professor  Morris  comes  shows  that  the 
advance  made  by  modern  theologians  is  in  liberality  of 
sentiment  rather  than  clearer  views  of  truth.  He  says : 
"While  we  all  believe  as  heartily  as  he  (Dr.  Shedd)  in  the 
revealed  fact  of  election,  and  still  hold  as  firmly  as  ever 
the  Calvinistic  rather  than  the  Arminian  interpretation  of 
this  fact,  we  are  not  disposed  to  push  the  resulting  doc- 
trine out  to  its  most  rigorous  extremes,  or  to  urge  it  upon 
men  in  any  exclusive  form  or  temper."  And  he  gives  as 
an  accordant  sentiment  of  Dr.  k.  A.  Hodge  the  following : 


PUBLIC    DISCUSSIONS.  279 

''Many  of  us  who  are  the  staunchest  Calvmists  feel  that 
the  need  of  the  hour  is  not  to  emphasize  a  fore -ordination 
which  no  clear,  comprehensive  thinker  douhts,  but  to  unite 
with  our  Arminian  brethren  in  putting  all  emphasis  and 
concentrating  all  attention  on  the  vital  fact  of  human  free- 
dom." The  reviews  of  Professor  Shedd's  work  bring  to 
view  other  points  on  which  the  Presbyterians  are  unset- 
tled and  restless,  but  these  may  be  better  noticed  in  con- 
nection with  the  proposition  to  revise  the  creed. 

A  prominent  member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  in 
enumerating  the  causes  for  thanksgiving  the  present  year, 
included  the  fact,  that  the  Presbyterians  seemed  about  to 
throw  oft"  the  incubus  of  Calvinism.  The  discussions  con- 
cerning the  creed  have  disclosed  an  unexpected  opposition 
to  some  of  its  teachings.  Certain  prominent  pastors  seem 
utterly  horrified  at  the  doctrine  of  reprobation.  One  would 
infer  that  they  were  surprised  to  find  it  among  the  Calvin- 
istic  doctrines.  The  privilege  of  preaching  a  free  salva- 
tion, of  teaching  that  whosoever  will  may  come  into  the 
kingdom  of  God,  is  demanded  emphatically  by  some,  with 
the  implication  that  the  Westminster  Confession  does  not 
permit  it.  The  entire  third  chapter  of  the  Confession  "Of 
God's  Eternal  Decree,"  is  offensive  to  many,  and  the  third 
and  fourth  sections- of  chapter  ten  not  less  so.  The  asser- 
tion that  elect  infants  and  other  elect  persons  are  saved 
though  not  "  outwardly  called  by  the  ministry  of  the  word,'' 
has  been  violently  assailed  because  of  the  natural  infer- 
ence therefrom  that  the  non-elect  are  not  saved.  Professor 
Briggs  says :  "If  we  cannot  tolerate  in  the  Confession 
these  doctrines  of  the  damnation  of  the  heathen  and  non- 
elect  infants,  now  that  none  of  us  believe  in  them,  there  is 


280  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

no  other  way  than  to  blot  out  these  sections  altogether." 
He  considers  the  Confession  defective  on  the  doctrines  of 
the  Trinity,  the  being  of  God,  creation,  on  anthropology, 
on  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  on  Christology,  con- 
cerning which  he  says  :  "  We  are  opening  our  minds  to 
see  that  the  Redeemer's  work  upon  the  cross  was  the  be- 
ginning of  a  larger  w^ork  in  the  realm  of  the  dead,  and  from 
his  heavenly  throne  whence  the  exalted  Saviour  is  drawing 
all  men  unto  himself." 

With  the  question  of  a  revision  of  the  Presbyterian  Con- 
fession may  be  noticed  the  recent  work  WhitJier?  by  Pro- 
fessor Charles  A.  Briggs,  probably  called  forth  by  the 
agitations  on  this  subject.  We  shall  not  attempt  any  criti- 
cism of  the  author,  his  Presbyterian  brethren  having  un- 
dertaken that,  but  simply  call  attention  to  the  topics  which 
he  suggests  as  deserving  and  calling  for  renewed  consider- 
ation. 

He  thinks  that  Presbyterian  and  Congregational 
churches  err  in  the  neglect  of  the  religious  element. 
"  They  are  at  present  marked  by  the  present  low  views  of 
the  Church  and  its  sacraments,  and  loose  views  and  prac- 
tices in  public  worship/'  He  finds  the  doctrine  of  baptis- 
mal regeneration  and  the  real  presence  of  Christ  at  the 
Lord's  table  in  the  Westminster  Standards  as  truly  as  in 
the  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  On  the  real  presence  he  is 
emphatic.  "If  there  were  any  apprehension  of  the  mys- 
tery and  sanctity  of  the  real  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sac- 
rament, the  ministry  and  people  would  be  more  careful 
in  preparing  themselves  and  in  inviting  others."  "  I  would 
rather  partake  of  the  Lord's  supper  with  one  who  believed 
in  the  real  presence  of  Christ,  even  though  he  were  a  Lu- 


I 


PUBTAC   DISCUSSIONS.  281 

tlieran ,  than  commune  with  one  who  denied  the  real  pres 
ence,  even  though  he  were  a  Presbyterian."  He  calls  upon 
Presbyterians  to  renounce  the  false,  extra-confessional 
doctrines  of  the  verbal  inspiration  and  inerrancy  of  the  Script- 
ures. The  latter  doctrine  he  considers  peculiarly  danger- 
ous. Criticism  has  undermined  the  authority  of  the  text 
both  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  has  shown  that 
the  Psalter  is  the  work  of  centuries,  the  books  of  wisdom 
occupied  generations  in  their  composition,  and  "  the  Pen- 
tateuch is  composed  of  four  parallel  narratives  with  four 
€odes  of  legislation."  Inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  is  not 
connected  with  their  human  authorship.  Hence  we  can- 
not possibly  establish  the  absolute  correctness  as  to  fact  of 
every  statement  of  the  Scriptures,  nor  show  that  the  words 
are  the  language  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  authority  of  the 
Scriptures  must  come  from  the  Scriptures  themselves.  The 
evidence  for  them  is  divine  evidence,  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit  to  each  individual  believer.  This  is  the  rock  on 
which  Christian  evidences  rest.  One  who  apprehends 
Christ  as  made  known  in  the  Bible  and  finds  God  reveal- 
ing himself  in  the  sacred  writings  can  believe  in  miracles 
and  prophecy.  They  are  just  what  he  would  expect  in  that 
state  of  things. 

Professor  Briggs  sees  in  eschatology  a  theme  of  excited 
discussion  in  the  coming  time.  He  considers  the  preva- 
lent opinion  on  this  point  crude  and  erroneous.  The  idea 
of  a  private  judgment  at  death  is  wholly  unfounded;  the 
doctrine  of  the  intermediate  state  is  mostly  undeveloped. 
Between  death  and  the  judgment  the  process  of  sanctifi- 
cation  goes  forward  among  the  redeemed.  The  Bible 
should  be  carefully  studied  to  discover  the   changes  which 


282  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY^. 

took  place  when  Christ  entered  Hades  and  preached  to  the 
dead.  Whether  probation  is  granted  in  the  next  life 
depends  on  whether  it  is  granted  in  this  life.  He  thinks 
there  is  no  probation  in  either,  that  those  regenerated  are 
regenerated  in  this  world  and  that  we  must  trust  to  the 
electing  decree  of  God  for  the  salvation  of  any.  He  thinks 
this  a  better  foundation  for  a  work  of  grace  than  the 
modern  notion  of  probation.  But  he  holds  that  the  mass 
of  mankind  are  embraced  in  the  electing  love  of  God. 

If  Professor  Briggs  apprehends  rightly  the  signs  of  the 
times,  w^e  have  already  entered  upon  theological  discussions 
that  will  largely  revolutionize  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
He  will  hardly  be  willing  to  rest  till  he  sees  American 
Presbyterian  restored  to  the  Westminister  foundations, 
and  the  Westminister  Symbols  themselves  purged  of  their 
unscriptural  doctrines. 

B.     THEOLOGICAL    LITERATURE. 

I.   Treatises  o)i  Theology  as  a  System. 

The  last  year  has  not  been  prolific  in  comprehensive 
works  on  theology.  The  spirit  of  the  time  has  turned  at- 
tention to  particular  topics  and  given  rise  to  hasty  pro- 
ductions. AVorks  that  are  as  long  in  process  of  ad- 
justment as  the  Children  of  Israel  were  in  the  wilderness, — 
works  like  those  of  Hodge,  Smith  and  Shedd — appear 
only  at  long  intervals.  We  have  before  us  a  survey  of  the 
broad  field  of  theology,  a  hand-book  of  theology  presenting 
a  survey  of  a  large  portion  of  that  field,  and  one  volume 
which  is  a  part  of  an  extended  treatise,  to  which  we  call  at- 
tention. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITER ATU HE.  283 

Christian  Doctrine  Ilarnionized^  is  a  most  persistent  ef- 
fort to  give  a  rational  form  to  the  doctrines  of  Christianity 
Through  two  large  octavo  volumes  of  about  400  pages  each, 
the  author  carries  forward,  step*  by  step,  his  speculations 
in  theology,  with  hardly  a  reference  to  the  Scriptures  ex- 
cept as  he  quotes  here  and  there  a  sentence  to  show  that 
they  coincide  with  the  views  which  he  adopts.  He  says  : 
"Dogmatics,  in  unifying  its  own  content,  must  relate  it  so 
to  all  other  truth,  and  so  unify  the  whole,  that  no  philo- 
sophic objection  is  possible.  This  self-coherence  is  the 
highest  form  of  proof.  The  present  author  proposes  so  to 
treat  dogmatic  results  as  to  show  their  harmony  with  all 
other  known  truth. "^  The  idea  that  the  test  of  truth  is 
harmony,  or  a  harmonizing  force,  pervades  the  book.  "All 
truth  is  one.  Every  element  of  it  illustrates  and  con- 
ditions every  other.  It  is  thus  a  rational  system,  and  its 
inner  harmony  only  can  show  it  to  be  the  absolute  truth. 
This  is  the  axiom  of  philosophy,  which  smiles  at  any 
attempt  to  gainsay  it,  and  will  go  on  in  its  unravelling  and 
weaving  career  as  long  as  the  world  endures."^ 

The  starting  point  of  philosophy  he  makes  the  ego — 
the  mind  as  we  are  conscious  of  it,  or  in  it,  as  a  concrete 
entity.  The  thinking  power  is  in  relation  to  spirit  and 
matter,  it  can  not  rid  itself  of  the  idea  of  either  and  accepts 
both.  It  also  accepts  the  limitations  under  which  it  acts 
and  the  forces  by  which  it  is  determined  in  its  action. 
The  mind  desires  and  pursues,  and  so  love  and  life  are  one. 


'  Christian  Doctrine  Harmonized  and  its  Rationality  Vindicated, 
By  John  Steinl'ortKedney,  D.  D.  Professor  of  Divinity  in  Seabury 
Divinity  School.   New  York:  G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.  1889.     2  Vols. 

-I  p.  2.  ^'I  p.  IGO. 


284  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

The  mind  must  elaborate  for  itself  a  system  of  thought 
which  shall  hold  in  harmony  the  facts  of  human  expe- 
rience and  the  necessary  ideas  of  the  mind.  In  theological 
speculation  three  postulates  are  to  be  admitted.  God,  the 
first  Principle,  endowed  with  personality,  the  source  of 
power;  Man  with  the  sense  of  responsibility,  and  with 
moral  freedom ;  and  sin. 

The  speculations  of  the  author  concerning  the  Trinity 
and  other  topics  of  theolog}*  are  interesting  and  indicate 
much  ingenuity  of  mind  and  persistence  of  thought,  but 
these  points  we  will  pass,  giving  attention  to  his  views  of 
sin  and  the  method  of  recovery  from  it. 

The  essence  of  sin  he  considers  to  be  isolation  from 
God,  self-sufficiency,  the  attempt  to  make  one's  self  an  in- 
dependent whole,  a  refusal  to  help  in  the  realization  of  a 
perfect,  harmonious  universe.  "It  can  not  properly  be 
called  rebellion,  unless  there  be  a  disputed  dominion, 
which  the  rebellious  spirit  hopes  to  gain  or  to  share.  It 
may,  indeed  must,  become  a  rebellion  to  keep  itself  from 
stagnation  and  barrenness  of  resources.  It  will,  therefore, 
to  enliven  its  own  experience,  seek  fellowship  and  use 
power,  and  exert  authority.  But  as  long  as  it  makes  this 
activity  and  fellowship  a  need  to  itself,  the  rebellious  one 
can  still  retreat,  for  this  need  implies  the  principle  of  good 
from  which  it  thus  far  has  not  entirely  freed  itself.  If 
convinced  at  length  of  its  own  impotence,  it  may  either 
yield  to  the  predisposition  which  it  has  repressed,  or  repel 
the  same  and  retire  upon  its  own  spiritual  independence, 
and  have  no  need  beyond  itself.  And  then  and  thus  does 
its  evil  become  absolutely  pure.  It  reigns  thenceforward 
undisputed  in  its  own  realm,  but  this  realm  is  only  within 


THEOLOGICAL    LITERATURE.  285 

itself.  Its  choice  of  evil  is  thus  deliberate  and  wilful,  and 
it  enters  upon  a  career  of  perpetual  shrinking  of  itself  to- 
wards a  point  unattainable,  viz.,  cessation  of  being. "^  We 
have  quoted  thus  at  length  because  the  passage  contains 
much  of  the  author  theologic  philosophy.  The  process  of 
shrinking  towards  a  point  not  attainable  when  one  gives 
himself  over  to  pure  evil  is  spoken  of  more  at  large  in  the 
second  volume,  where  the  condition  of  the  incorrigibly 
wicked  comes  under  discussion;  and  the  expression  "3^ield 
to  the  predispositions  which  it  has  repressed"  points  to  his 
view  of  one  meiliod  of  recovery  from  sin.  Man's  moral 
position  being  assumed  by  his  own  act,  * 'while  he  has 
the  desire  and  may  have  the  w^ill  to  make  the  right  moral 
choice,  his  recovery  from  the  force  of  adverse  tendencies  is 
still  thinkable,  and  therefore  possible.  Instances  of  such 
recovery,  so  far  as  w^e  can  accurately  judge  from  observa- 
tion, have  been  frequent  and  numerous ;  instances  of  mak- 
ing choice  of  moral  good  from  out  the  deepest  abyss  and 
heaviest  ruin  of  moral  evil.'"^ 

The  great  question  concerning  evil  is,  is  there  a  means 
of  recovery  from  it,  a  means  of  expelling  it  from  the  uni- 
verse, at  least  of  repelling  it  from  the  range  of  human  life. 
Humanity  constitutes  an  organism,  which  is  to  be  thought  of 
as  a  member  of  a  larger  organism  including  God  himself.  But 
before  the  subordinate  organism  can  fill  its  place  and  at- 
tain its  full  development,  there  is  a  contradiction  to  be  re- 
moved. "Moral  evil  must  be  extirpated  from  it,  in  which 
case  only  can  physical  evil  disappear,  and  the  material 
universe  be  made  correspondent."^     The  author  finds   in 

'I.  p.  13<).  -I  p.  32.  ^*I  p.  112 


286  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

human  experience  an  intimation  of  recovery  from  evil.  Ob- 
dience  to  law  produces  happiness,  violation  of  law  brings 
suffering.  .  "Thus  the  Divine  love  is  seen  to  be  so  perfect 
as  not  to  be  indulgent,  but  seveie  to  whatever  is  alien  to 
itself.  And  besides,  a  close  observation  of  human  experi- 
ence shows  that  to  the  morally  obedient  the  suffering  that 
comes  from  heredity  and  environment  becomes  remedial, 
purifying,  and  a  means  for  spiritual  strength.  Such  facts 
as  these  indicate  that  human  obedience  and  moral  recovery 
are  in  the  Divine  mind  a.nd  heart,  and  render  probable  that 
the  task  of  rectifying  humanity  has  been  undertaken."*  *  * 
Influences  from  the  unseen  and  unknown  must  have  come 
to  it  [human  freedom],  illuminating  motives  and  supplying 
and  strengthening  the  motive-spring.  In  this  is  the  philo- 
sophic, or  even  the  scientific  vindication  of  a  doctrine  of 
grace. ^ 

How  is  this  recovery  of  wbich  na  ure  gives  a  kind  of 
promise  to  be  reahzed  ?  Man  can  keep  the  law,  while  sub- 
ject to  temptation,  -can  obey  and  thus  acquire  a  liigh,  noble 
moral  character,  but  can  he  go  beyond  this?  Can  he  come 
into  closer  relations  to  the  First  Principle  so  that  there 
shall  be  a  coalescence  between  the  Divine  and  the  human? 
If  the  perfect  idea  of  humanity  is  to  be  attained  man  must 
sustaai  £i  filial  not  a  %aZ  relation  toward  God.  His  nature 
must  be  assimilated  to  the  Divine  nature.  The  exhaustless 
depths  of  the  latter  must  be  opened  to  him.  This  is  virtual 
apotheosis.  Can  this  be  secured  in  the  mere  course  of 
nature,  by  development  of  the  human?  Even  the  pro- 
gress in  human  elevation  through  obedience  to  law  has 
been  secured  1)V  external  and  changing  intiuences,  and  "if 


Tp.|118,  119. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITERATURE.  287 

new  depths  of  the  Divine  being  are  to  be  opened,  if  God 
and  man  are  to  be  still  fm-ther  assimilated,  it  must  be  by 
a  new  condescension  on  God's  part,  bringing  himself  with- 
in the  compass  of  man's  actual  and,  thus  far,  limited  fac- 
ulties."^ If  this  assimilation  of  man's  nature  to  God's  is 
to  become  a  fact,  and  men  are  to  become  sons  of  God,  the 
Eternal  Son  must  become  human  and  exhibit  the  pattern 
of  eternal  Sonship.  "In  accomplishing  this  incarnation, 
the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  life-principle  of  the  universe,  must 
be  efficient."  If  the  incarnation  is  to  become  effective  in 
transforming  humanity  God  must  be  one  with  the  human 
race  in  its  essential  idea.  "The  Eternal  Son  must  come 
through  the  whole  sphere  of  human  development.  He 
must  be  born,  be  a  child,  grow  physically,  mentally,  mo- 
rally, religiously,  and,  since  the  contradiction  has  entered 
the  world,  must  cae  and  be  raised  again. "^  If  Christ  is  thus 
incarnate  and  dies  on  the  cross,  a  moral  influence  is  brought 
to  bear  upon  man  which  cannot  be  exceeded.  "And  I,  if 
I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me."  In  the  incar- 
nation is  necessary,  so  the  author  holds,  a  kenosis.  Only 
as  we  rightly  appreciate  this  shall  we  properly  appreciate 
redemptive  work.  Creation  is  a  self-limitation  of  God,  the 
creation  of  man  with  freedom  of  action  and  power  to  intro- 
duce a  contradiction  into  the  system  of  things,  is  a  still 
more  marked  self-limitation.  "The  purpose  of  the  creation 
is  the  production  that  can  feel  and  respond  to  Divine  love." 
Love  is  therefore  the  motive  of  God's  self-limitation.  When 
the  self -limitation  'puts  on  the  form  necessary  for  the  re- 
demption, for  setting  aside  sin,  the  contradictions  in  the 

^:,  p.  152.  -I.  y,  163. 


288  SVSTFJIATIC    THEOLOGY. 

universe,  it  becomes  sacrifice.  This  we  see  in  the  suffer- 
ing and  dying  Christ. 

Christ's  growth  in  mental  and  moral  power  affected  his 
physical  nature  and  was  redemptive.  He  was  regenerated 
progressively  through  life.  This  explains  his  transfigura- 
tion. From  him  sanctified  there  goes  forth  a  force  which 
permeates  humanity  and  transforms  it.  "The  new  and  re- 
generated humanity  may  be  regarded  as  summed  up  in  its 
solitary  and  unique  specimen,  Jesus  Christ,  from  whose 
side  issues  the  Church,  the  bride,  the  extension  of  himself, 
and  the  propagation  from  himself."^  This  is  but  a  meager 
sketch  of  a  carefully  wrought  scheme  of  theological  specu- 
lation. The  course  of  thought  is  recondite  and  will  be  fol- 
lowed to  its  close  by  very  few  readers.  It  is,  however,  sug- 
gestive and  indicates  profound  reflection  upon  topics  of 
highest  human  interest.  The  ordinary  Christian  will  think 
that  it  savors  more  of  human  wisdom  than  of  simple  faith, 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  it  cannot  claim  a  very  full 
reproduction  in  Current  Discussions,  for,  however  interested 
some  minds  may  be  in  the  abstruse  meditations  of  the  au- 
thor, the  work  can  never  become  one  familiarly  known  to 
the  public. 

Nitzsch,  Evangelische  Dogmatik.'^  This  work  is  one  of  a 
series  of  theological  manuals  pubUshed  by  Mohr.  The  aim 
of  the  work  is  to  give  the  reader  a  knowledge  of  the  present 
state  of  dogmatic  theology.  We  have  here  the  first  volume, 
with  the  promise  that  the  second  shall  follow  as  soon  as 


ij.  p.  329. 

^Lehrbuch  der  Evangelischen  Dogmatik  von  Dr.  Friedricli  Aug. 
Berth.  Nitzsch.  Ord.  Professor  der  Theologie  in  Kiel.  Erste  Halfte 
J^reiburg  i.  B.  1889  J.  C.  B.  Mohr. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITERATURE.  289 

possible.  The  author's  purpose  is  to  treat  his  subject  in  a 
way  to  give  prominence  to  topics  of  special  interest,  not  in 
accordance  with  scientific  proportions. 

The  speculative  tendency  of  theological  thinkers  in  Ger- 
many is  obvious  from  the  fact  that  one-half  of  the  present 
volume  is  given  to  a  consideration  of  the  origin  and  essence 
of  religion,  mainly  to  a  presentation  of  different  views  of 
the  subject.  The  greater  part  of  the  second  half  of  the 
book  is  devoted  to  the  doctrine  of  revelation — a  statement 
of  the  elements  of  the  doctrine,  a  history  of  the  criticisrhs 
to  which  the  doctrine  has  been  subjected,  and  a  reply  to  the 
criticisms.  Theological  students  in  this  country  would 
hardly  select  a  manual  of  which  one-half  was  taken  up 
with  religions  in  general  and  Christian  apologetics.  The 
work  contains  nothing  of  special  interest  for  American 
readers  except  that  it  presents  a  clear  view  of  the  position 
of  the  more  evangelical  theologians  of  Germany.  The  au- 
thor holds  that  the  Scriptures  are  the  norm  of  evangelical 
doctrine  and  that  no  criticism  can  deprive  them  of  this  dig- 
nity. He  accepts  the  fact  of  miracles  but  seems  anxious 
to  hold  that  they,  in  some  way,  belong  to  the  original  plan 
of  creation  and  are  in  accord  with  natural  law^  He  speaks 
in  terms  of  commendation  of  Kothe's  view  of  revelation, 
which  makes  it  consist  of  manifestation  and  inspiration, — 
God's  manifestation  of  himself  and  an  inspiration  of  man 
that  enables  him  to  discern  the  revelation.  He  maintains 
that  the  Christian^religion  is  not  revealed  metaphysics  or 
revealed  ethics,  yet  that  it  implies  metaphysical  conditions 
and  a  moral  state  of  the  will.  He  makes  conscience  the 
complex  of  one's  involuntary  moral  consciousness  which 
reacts  against  conduct  at  war  with  one's  ruling  moral  ideal. 


'290  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

He  defines  Cliristianity  thus:  '' Christianity  is  that  ethi- 
cal monotheistic  and  nniversal  rehgion  in  which  participa- 
tion in  the  kingdom  of  God,  developed  by  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, including  divine  sonship  and  love  together  with  eter- 
nal divine  life,  is  made  the  highest  good  and  a  saving  good." 
His  remarks  upon  natural  religion  are  worthy  of  notice. 
"  Christianity  is,  notwithstanding  its  universality,  a  special 
and  definite  religion.  There  is  no  so-called  natural  relig- 
ion. What  is  named  such  is  no  religion  at  all,  but  a  com- 
bination of  popular  philosophical  phrases,  and  it  is  very 
questionable  whether  this  is  wholly  free  from  myth.  One 
seeks  to  reject  what  is  peculiar  to  each  religion  and  set  ap 
the  remainder  as  the  content  of  natural  religion.  But  there 
never  existed  such  a  natural  religion.  There  is  no  actual 
religion  which  belongs  to  all  men  as  such."^  The  need  of 
a  religion  is  universal,  but  one  should  not  confound  this 
with  its  satisfaction,  the  vessel  with  its  definite  content. 

A.  Gretillat,  Theohgie  SysUinatique.^  This  volume  is 
the  second  published  of  the  extensive  work  of  Professor 
Gretillat,  but  is  to  be  the  third  in  the  complete  work ;  the 
second  and  fourth  volumes  are  to  be  published  as  they  are 
prepared.  Professor  E.  A.  Lipsius  speaks  of  the  produc. 
tion  as  in  accord  with  modern  orthodoxy,  but  it  can  hardly 
be  the  orthodoxy  of  this  country.  The  sentiments,  how- 
ever, which  are  at  variance  with  our  current  theology  are 
not  new  and  now  occupy  a  pretty  well  defined  position 
among  us,  while  the  work  as  a  whole  is  acute,  instructive 


ip.  104. 

^Expose  de  theolojie  systematique.  Tome  Troisieme.  Dog- 
matique.  I  Tlieologie  Speciele,  Cosmologie.  Neuchatel.  Attinger 
Freres,  1888. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITERATI' RE.  291 

and  serious.  Though  the  author  rejects  decisively  the  idea 
that  there  is  no  relation  hetween  theology  and  metaphys- 
ics, he  relies  upon  the  Scriptures  to  a  remarkable  degree  to 
support  the  positions  which  he  adopts.  The  volume  before 
us  consists  of  two  parts:  a  treatise  on  theology  proper, — - 
the  doctrine  concerning  God,  and  Cosmology. 

The  point  which  will  attract  most  interest  with  us  in 
the  first  part  is  his  view  of  the  Trinity.  He  holds  to  the 
doctrine  of  three  persons  in  the  Godhead,  and  to  the  con- 
substantiality  of  the  persons,  but  teaches  the  subordina- 
tion of  the  Son  and  the  Spirit.  He  considers  that  the 
unanimous  and  universal  consent  of  the  Cliurch  to  a 
hierarchy  in  the  designation  of  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Spirit  as  first,  second,  third,  implies  also  a  subordination, 
if  only  nominal,  of  the  second  and  third  to  the  first. ^  But 
he  holds  to  a  subordination  more  than  nominal.  He  finds 
a  subordination  of  essence  in  the  consubstantiality  in 
John  v:26,  "As  the  Father  hath  life  in  himself:  so  hath 
he  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself."  Here  is  as- 
<3ribed,  the  author  believes,  aseity  to  the  Son,  which  is  yet 
given  by  the  Father.  This  is  a  contradiction  which  mathe- 
matics rejects,  but  which  perfect  love  has  eternally  solved. 
The  Son  eternally  receives  from  the  Father  spontaneous 
existence.*'^  He  infers  also  a  subordination  of  the  Son  in 
operation,  in  the  expression,  ''the  Word  was  with  God," 
i.  e.  unto  God.  This  is  interpreted  as  meaning,  the  sec- 
ond person  acts  with  reference  to  the  first. ^  The  words  in 
Phil.  v:6-7,  "Who  being  in  the  form  of  God  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  but  made  himself  of 
no  reputation,"  he   interprets  thus:  "He  did  not  regard  it 

>p.  200.  =-'p.  2Ul.  p^  205. 


2§^  SYSTFJIATIC    THEOLOGY. 

as  a  good  to  be  taken  by  force,  to  raise  himself  still  higher, 
to  an  equality  with  God,  by  refusing  to  obej^  the  decree 
which  designated  him  as  the  mediator  in  the  salvation  of 
men,  but  he  humbled  himself,  etc."^  He  considers  that  the 
Spirit  is  subordinate  to  the  Father  in  essence,  as  the  Son 
is,  and  subordinate  to  both  the  Father  and  the  Son  in 
operation.^ 

Under  Cosmology  the  author  treats  of  creation  and  provi- 
dence. The  creative  act  is  first  considered,  the  account  given 
in  Genesis  being  accepted  as  historic.  The  product  of  the 
creative  act — matter,  angels,  men — is  then  taken  up,  and 
to  this  is  attached  a  subsidiary  section  on  sin.  Sm  is  con- 
sidered under  the  two  heads,  demonology,  and  the  fall  of 
man.  Providence  is  treated  as  including  the  preservation 
and  the  control  of  the  w^orld.  The  control  of  the  world  is 
such  that  miracles  and  the  permission  of  sin  have  their 
place  as  possible  and  actual.  The  discussion  of  these 
topics  is  fresh,  and  often  keenly  intellectual  while  not  ver}^ 
thoroughly  argumentative.  The  author  states  his  views 
boldly,  sometimes  without  much  attempt  at  explanation. 
We  shall  not  attempt  to  give  his  course  of  thought 
but  simply  refer  to  a  few  points  which  illustrate  the  char- 
acter of  his  speculations.  One  of  the  offices  of  matter  he 
sets  forth  thus :  It  is  the  neutral  medium  in  which  actions 
and  reactions, put  forth  and  received  in  turn  by  finite  spirits,, 
gather  themselves  up  and  objectify  themselves  for  a  time 
sufficient  to  permit  the  object  of  the  action  to  deliberate  on  the 
reception  he  shall  give  to  the  external  movement,  and  to  per- 
mit the  subject  to  refrain  from  passing  at  once  and  wholly 


T.  204.  -P.  20o. 


TIIEOLOGKWL    LITER  ATUR  E.  293 

into  the  effects  of  his  action.^  He  adopts  the  scheme  of 
trichotoiin^ — body,  sonl  and  spirit,  and  attributes  a  reality 
and  importance  to  the  material  substance  as  well  as  to  the 
spiritual.  This  estimate  of  matter  he  supposes  to  be  sup- 
ported by  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  and  the  restoration 
of  nature.  He  denies  that  the  Scriptures  ever  set  the  two 
principles,  matter  and  spirit,  in  opposition  to  each  other 
as  hostile  and  not  reducible,  the  one  to  the  other.  In  the 
Scripture  view  the  susceptibility  and  unity  in  the  two  sub- 
stances prevails  over  their  incompatibilities.  "The  docr 
trines  of  the  incarnation  and  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
himself,  and  of  his  redeemed,  attest,  in  opposition  to  the 
two  principles  of  dualism  and  of  idealism,  that  the  Scripture 
is  at  once  spiritualistic  and  realistic.""^ 

The  author  infers  from  the  narrative  of  the  fall  of  man 
that  there  is  an  author  of  evil  superior  to  nature  and  to 
man,  but  absolutely  dependent  upon  God  and  amenable 
to  his  tribunal.  The  fall  of  the  devil  he  does  not  find 
affirmed  in  the  Bible,  but  clearly  implied.  It  is  proved 
from  John  viii :  44,  "He  abode  not  in  the  truth.  "^  The 
existence  of  beings  superior  to  humanity,  devoted  to  evil, 
he  thinks  fairly  inferrible  from  Gen.  ii:15,  where  Adam  is 
enjoined  to  keep  the  garden.  The  decisive  proof,  however, 
that  the  diabolic  state  is  due  to  a  voluntary  determination 
is  the  divine  judgment  concerning  it.  The  di'abolic  state 
is  one  of  unmitigated  wickedness.  While  men  commit 
sin  for  the  sake  of  an  incidental  good,  in  the  diabolic  state 
evil  is  the  foundation  and  essence  of  its  being,  as  a  lie  is 
the  appropriate  expression  of  its  tbought.     A  demon  has 


'P.  432.  *Pp.  428-429.  ^P.  523. 


294  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

no  participation  in  the  good,  but  his  simple  existence  is  an 
opposition  to  the  truth  and  a  revolt  against  God.^  His 
absolute  subjection  to  evil  is  followed  by  successive  de- 
gradations. In  the  Old  Testament  times  Satan  found  a 
place  amid  the  faithful  angels  and  entered  into  their  de- 
liberations, as  Judas  was  among  the  disciples,  but  Christ 
saw  him,  when  he  was  on  earth,  fall  like  lightning  from 
heaven.  Since  that  time  he  is  the  prince  of  this  world. 
Hereafter,  at  the  appointed  time,  he  will  be  cast  into  the 
abyss  and  confined  apart  from  all  that  is  good.  There  his 
existence  will  be  life  in  death,  and  death  in  life,  a  life 
re-born  without  cessation  that  it  may  be  consumed  with- 
out cessation. 

The  author  holds  that  man  succeeded  Satan  in  the  inheri- 
tance of  this  world,  so  that  Satan's  lie  in  the  temptation  of 
Jesus,  when  he  said  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  were  given 
to  him,  was  in  his  neglecting  to  say,  that  he  had  forfeited  his 
right  to  them.  Satan  resolved  from  the  first  to  recover  his 
possession,  and  thought  the  surest  way  to  effect  this  result 
was  to  draw  man  into  an  alliance  with  himself,  and  make 
him  a  partaker  of  his  own  fall.  He  succeeded  partially  in 
this  endeavor.  Some  of  the  race  are  to  be  banished  to  the 
everlasting  fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  Matt. 
XXV :  41.^  The  fall  of  man  is  accepted,  in  this  volume, 
as  occurring  precisely  in  accord  with  the  narrative  in  Gen- 
esis. The  story  has  the  air  of  a  historic  reality  and  is 
accepted  as  such  in  the  New  Testament.  Temptation 
came  upon  man  from  three  sources,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the 
lust   of  the   eye,    and    the  pride   of  life.     The  fall  was  a 

ip.  530.  -P.  537. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITEIiATl'RE.  295 

conscious  and  voluntary  transgression  of  God's  command. 
There  was  no  necessity  in  the  case,  the  transgression  was 
preceded  by  deUberation  and  followed  upon  the  presen- 
tation of  definite  motives.  The  consequences  of  the  fall  of 
man  were  a  sentence  of  utter  and  irrevocable  ruin  upon  the 
tempter;  chastisements  for  the  victims  of  the  temptation, 
not  as  satisfaction  to  justice,  but  dictated  by  mercy  and 
convertible  into  blessings.^  The  sentence  upon  man  was 
death,  involving  spiritual  death  and  the  death  of  the  body, 
but  not  eternal  death,  as  the  old  Protestant  theology  has 
affirmed.  The  threatened  punishment  was  simply  phys- 
ical death,  but  the  immediate  col  sequence  was  spiritual 
death.  Eternal  death  was  only  a  menace,  the  second 
death  incurred  by  a  prolongation  of  the  moral  death 
in  this  world.  Physical  death,  however,  may  be  made 
the  chief  of  blessings,  for  it  is  the  condition,  fctr  man, 
refused  to  the  first  rebels  of  the  universe,  of  the  promised 
redemption  and  of  immortality  acquired  anew.  The 
refusal  of  death  after  the  fall  would  be  a  greater  crime 
than  the  disregard  of  the  menace  of  death  before  the 
fall-  Physical  death  is  the  cui-se  entailed  upon  the  race 
as  a  whole,  and  has  no  connection  as  a  result  with 
particular  personal  transgression.  When  one  dies  before 
conscious  voluntary  sin  his  death  answers  all  the  demands 
of  justice,  he  needs  no  further  vindication  before  the  law. 
What  is  to  be  the  outcome  of  actual  and  conscious  sin 
the  author  does  not  know.  This,  he  says,  is  the  absolute^ 
insoluble  part  of  the  problem  of  sin  in  humanity.  Still  he 
knows  that  all  the  guilty  have  need  of  salvation  and  can  be 


T.  561.  -Pp.  561.  569.  572. 


296  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

saved  only  by  grace.  On  the  other  hand,  he  holds  that 
subjection  to  the  wrath  of  God  because  of  transgression  is 
not  irreparable  and  eternal,  for  there  is  only  one  sin  irre- 
missible  in  this  world  and  the  next,  that  is,  voluntary 
rejecting  of  the  grace  of  God  in  Christ. 

The  mistake  of  the  old  orthodoxy  was,  so  our  author 
thinks,  in  disregarding  the  differences  in  the  various  im- 
putations of  sin.  It  made  eternal  damnation  the  penalty 
alike  for  the  hardened  transgressor,  for  the  occasional  sin- 
ner, and  for  one  dying  in  infancy.  The  fact  that  the  gospel 
has  survived  such  a  doctrine,  of  which  the  Scriptures 
and  Paul  are  innocent,  is  evidence  of  the  indestructi])le 
vitality  of  the   gospel. 

The  author's  views  of  Soteriology  and  Eschatology 
are  to  be  presented  in  a  volume  now  in  the  course  of 
preparation. 

The  Kingdom  of  God,  Bruce. ^  Former  works  of  Pro- 
fessor Bruce  have  been  noticed  in  Current  Discussions. 
The  present  volume  does  not  require  special  attention. 
Indeed,  it  is  one  of  the  books  that  cannot  be  easily  com- 
pressed; its  value  is  in  the  remarks  scattered  through 
its  pages,  rather  than  in  its  structure  or  main  idea. 
What  are  the  religious  ideas  that  Christ  has  imparted  to 
the  world '?  This  volume  attempts  to  reproduce  and  classify 
them  as  the  first  three  Gospels  bring  them  before  us.  The 
topic  has  relations  to  the  entire  range  of  theology,  but 
we  shall  simply  cull  a  few  of  the  more  prominent  thoughts. 

The  kingdom  of  God  which  Jesus  preached,  our  author 


^The  Kingdom  of  God,  or  Christ's  teachings  according  to  the 
Synoptical  Gospels.  By  Alexander  Balmain  Bruce  D.  D.  Scribner  <fe 
Welford:  New  York,  1889. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITERATURE.  297 

holds,  was  an  ideal  kingdom,  spiritual  in  its  nature,  yet  a 
kingdom  for  this  world,  open  to  all,  the  citizens  of  which 
were  to  be  holy  as  well  as  prosperous  and  happy.  Jesus 
used  the  expression  kingdom  of  Heaven  frequently  to 
elevate  the  minds  of  his  hearers  above  the  range  of  or- 
dinary Jewish  thought,  but  did  not  intend  to  intimate 
that  its  realization  was  not  to  be  in  this  world.  The 
people  did  not  sympathize  with  his  exalted  views ;  when 
he  rejects  a  leadership  in  political  independence,  ''The 
multitude  melts  away;  and  the  eyes  of  Jesus  are  opened. 
It  is  all  over  with  the  dream  of  a  theocratic  kingdom  of 
Israel,  with  himself  for  its  king.  What  awaits  him,  he 
now  sees,  is  not  a  throne,  but  a  cross.''^^ 

Professor  Bruce's  view  of  the  Church  as  the  realization 
of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  view  of  the  wisdom  of 
Christ  in  adopting  it  as  the  means  of  establishing  the  king- 
dom, will  excite  some  surprise.  Preferring  to  Peter's  confes- 
sion and  Christ's  promise  to  build  his  Church,  Professor 
Bruce  says:  "Jesus  then  gave  utterance  to  three  great 
truths ;  first,  that  the  Church  to  be  founded  was  to  be 
Christian,  or,  to  put  it  otherwise,  that  the  person  of  the 
founder  was  of  fundamental  importance ;  second,  that  as 
such  it  should  be  practically  identical  with  the  kingdom 
of  God  he  had  hitherto  preached ;  third,  that  in  this  Church 
the  righteousness  of  the  kingdom  should  find  its  home."^ 
Farther  on  the  author  expresses  the  hope  that  the  Church 
may  never  become  "utterly  savourless,"  but  adds,  '-Should 
this  hope  be  disappointed,  then  the  visible  Church,  as  we 
know  it,  must  and  will  pass  away,  leaving   the    Spirit    of 

^l.  p.  61.  -P.  262. 


298  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

Christ  free  room  to  make  a  new  experiment,  under  happier 
auspices,  at  self-realization.  To  be  enthusiastic  about  the 
Church  in  its  present  condition  is  impossible ;  to  hope  for 
its  future  is  not  impossible  ;  but  if  it  were,  there  is  no  cause 
for  despair.  Christ  will  ever  remain  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever;  the  kingdom  of  God  will  remain  a 
kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved. "^  He  also  says:  "I  am 
even  disposed  to  think  that  a  great  and  steadily  increasing 
portion  of  the  moral  worth  of  society  lies  outside  the  Church, 
separated  from  it  not  by  godlessness,  but  rather  by  ex- 
ceptionally intense  moral  earnestness.  Many  in  fact,  have 
left  the  Church  in  order  to  be  Christians. "- 

The  author  holds,  that  Christ  revealed  God  specially -as 
a  Father,  and  that  he  saw  in  men  qualities  which  respond  in 
some  degree  to  paternal  good- will.  While  he  was  not  Pe- 
lagian he  Avas  not  scholastic.  He  did  not  look  upon  man 
as  dead.  "He  saw  in  the  sinful  some  spark  of  vitality,  some 
latent  affinity  for  good,  an  imprisoned  spirit  longing  to  be 
free,  a  true  self  victimized  by  satanic  agency,  that  would 
fain  escape  from  thrall.  On  this  better  element  he 
ever  kept  his  eye ;  his  constant  effort  was  to  get  into  con- 
tact with  it,  and  he  refused  to  despair  of  success. "-"^ 

Jesus'  idea  of  the  Messiah  was  derived  from  the  Old 
Testament,  so  our  author  supposes,  especially  from  Isaiah. 
He  would  see  in  the  one  holding  that  office  especially  the 
Servant  of  Jehovah  ;  he  was  to  conquer  by  the  power  of  love 
and  truth ;  he  must  meet  the  deepest  want  of  man,  not 
simply  the  desire  of  the  Jews;  he  must  be  a  man  of 
faith,  patience,  hope,  sympathy.  Jesus  from  the  first  be- 

ip.  272.  2P.  U4.  T.  134. 


TIIEOL  OG  TCA  L    LITER  A  TL  li  E.  299 

lieved  himself  to  bo  the  Messiah.  He  must  have  felt  him- 
self called  to  that  office  l)y  the  Father.  He  in  effect  pro- 
claimed himself  the  Messiah  by  the  representations  which 
he  made  of  himself.  He  assumed  to  be  the  Eevealer  of 
the  Father,  the  Judge  of  the  world,  the  Saviour  of  the 
world,  to  be  entitled  to  perfect  allegiance  on  the  part  of  his 
followers. 

The  author  attributes  so  much  to  man's  power  and 
and  disposition,  separating  the  divine  activit}^  to  such  an 
extent  from  man's  salvation,  making  election,  for  example, 
a  call  to  eminent  usefulness,  not  to  salvation,  that  one  is 
not  prepared  to  see  so  much  attributed  to  the  death  of 
Christ ;  but  on  this  point  strict  orthodoxy  will  hardly  demur 
to  his  statements.  He  sees  in  Christ's  death  the  ransom  of 
the  sinner,  the  source  of  a  new  life,  the  ground  of  the  high- 
est blessings,  an  offering  for  sin,  the  ground  of  the  remis- 
sion of  sin  and  the  means  of  reconciliation  with  God. 

We  have  space  here  to  indicate  merely  the  drift  of  the 
book;  it  is  the  result  of  long  study  and  repays  perusal 
page  by  page. 

2.      Theological  Criticism. 

This  topic  might  include  review  articles  and  pamphlets 
and  book  notices  without  end,  but  we  simply  call  attention 
to  three  works,  characteristic  of  the  time,  instructive  be- 
cause of  their  content,  and  critical  rather  than  construct- 
ive in  their  aim.  The  works  are  not  similar  except  in  this, 
that  tn.y  are  estimates  of  theology  rather  than  presenta- 
tions of  theology. 


300  Si'STFJJATlC    THFOLOfi). 

Kant,  Lotze,  and  lUtschl.  Stahliii.^  This  work  was 
written  with  the  main  purpose  of  subjecting  the  theology 
of  Eitschl  to  a  thorough  criticism.  We  shall  notice  simply 
this  portion  of  the  book.  This  theology  still  excites  inter- 
est and  wins  followers.  It  is  the  only  scheme  of  divinity 
produced  of  late  years  which  bears  the  name  of  its  author. 
Parts  of  it  have  been  discussed  but  the  whole  system  had 
not,  so  far  as  we  know,  been  weighed  in  a  balance,  till  the 
work  before  us  appeared.  The  opponents  of  Eitschl  have 
commonly  objected  to  his  system  because  it  does  not  rec- 
ognize the  great  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity ;  it 
has  no  place  for  original  sin,  for  total  depravity,  for  con- 
demnation of  those  in  sin,  for  expiation  and  substitution; 
but  we  have  in  Stahlin  an  estimate  of  the  positive  contents 
of  the  system.  He  takes  up  its  two  fundamental  princi- 
ples and  shows  that  in  itself  it  is  self-contradictory  and 
absurd.  He  points  out  the  inevitable  result  of  restricting 
knowledge  to  phenomena,  and  of  separating  religious 
knowledge  from  a  knowledge  of  the  world.  It  is  this  theory 
of  knowledge  which  distinguishes  the  scheme  of  Eitschl 
from  that  of  the  Church.  Even  in  tliis  his  critic  considers 
him  niconsistent  with  himself,  and  to  be  really  a  follower 
of  Kant  while  he  supposes  himself  to  be  a  follower  of 
Lotze.  He  adopts  as  a  fundamental  principle  the  view 
that  "we  know  things  in  their  phenomena."  This  distin- 
guis  ies  things  from  phenomena,  and  if  they  are  not  in  the 
phenomena  where  and  what  are  they?  Eitschl  says  the 
thing  in  itself  is  a    merely    formal    conception.     But  he 


^Kant,  Lotze,  and  Ritschl.  A  Critical  Examination  by  Leonhard 
Stiihlin.  Translated  by  D.  W.  Simon,  Ph.  D.,  Edinburgh.  T.  &  T. 
Clark.    1889. 


TlIEOLOaU  'A  L    L I TKNA  T(  'RE.  301 

teaches  that  phenomena  are  a  mere  illusion  unless  a  thing 
in  itself  appears  in  them.  If,  then,  the  thing  in  itself  is  a 
formal  conception  simply,  the  world  of  phenomena  becomes 
tlie  shadow  of  a  shadow.  ''  The  reality  of  phenomena  can 
no  longer  be  maintained  when  once  the  thing  itself  as  dis- 
tinguished from  phenomenon  is  declared  to  be  a  purely 
formal  concept."^  If  the  mind  itself  combines  phenomena 
and  they  have  no  unity  without  the  mind,  then  the  thing 
exists  only  for  us  and  has  no  objective  being.  "  Eitschl's 
theory  of  cognition  thus  ipso  facto  disappears.  Phenomenon 
Jicis  no  existence:  the  things  given  in  perception  as  unities 
of  phenomena  have  no  c.vistence.  Things  in  themselves,  too, 
are  empty  shadows;  they  are  simply  memorj'-images  used 
perversely — memory-images,  moreover,  of  actualities  which 
themselves  have  no  existence,  save  that  of  phenomena  of 
consciousness."'^  The  critic  shows  that  Eitschl,  carrying 
out  his  speculations  on  the  basis  of  his  theory  of  knowledge, 
falls  into  inextricable  confusion.  The  heading  of  one  of 
his  sections  is :  "  Limitation  of  knowledge  to  phenomena 
involves  the  elimination  from  theology  of  all  claim  to  know 
the  objects  of  the  Christian  faith  as  they  are  in  them- 
selves."^ When  this  theory  of  knowledge  is  applied  to 
God,  it  destroys,  so  the  critic  shows,  the  very  idea  of  God, 
it  denies  that  God  is  love, — "God  is  love,"  is  a  favorite 
text  with  Eitschl, — it  destroys  the  personality  of  God,  it 
makes  God  simply  God  for  us,  a  creation  of  our  own 
minds,  it  denies  that  God  is  the  Absolute,  which  is  to  deny 
him  deity. 

Eitschl's  theory  of  cognition  is  similarly  destructive  of 
our  knowledge  of  Christ.     It  does  not  permit  us  to  recog- 


'P.  176.  2p_  i^i^  .p^  186. 


I 


302  SVSTFJIATJC    THEOLOGY. 

nize  "the  pre-existence  of  Christ  m  the  sense  of  his  eter- 
nal deity."  When  he  ascribes  eternal  existence  to  Christ, 
it  is  only. as  an  object  of  will,  the  object  of  God's  eternal 
love  to  be  manifested  in  time.  "  Prior  to  his  human  birth, 
Christ  was  as  far  from  having  real  existence  as  was  the 
church  before  it  was  founded."^  The  theology  under  re- 
view has  no  expiatory  sacrifice,  no  satisfactory  doctrine  of 
substitution.  The  sufferings  of  Christ  simply  testified  to 
his  own  faithfulness  in  the  work  to  which  he  was  appointed  ; 
they  were  an  accidental  accompaniment  of  his  discharge 
of  his  office.  Christ's  relation  to  God  was  therefore  simply 
harmony  of  will, — a  moral  unity.  The  kingdom  of  God  on 
earth  is  established  by  bringing  men  into  this  same  har- 
mony and  unity.  "By  initiating  his  adherents  into  the 
like  relation  to  God  and  the  world,  he  established  the  com- 
munity of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  thus  his  church  ex- 
presses the  two-fold  significance  attaching  to  him  as  the 
perfect  revelation  of  God,  and  as  the  archetype  of  spiritual 
domination  over  the  world,  by  conferring  on  him  the  predi- 
cate deity. "^  In  accordance  with  such  a  scheme  atone- 
ment and  justification  are  merely  subjective  operations  of 
the  individual  soul.  Revelation  itself,  also,  is  merely  a 
disclosure  of  the  mind  to  itself. 

Stahlin  finds  Ritschl's  view  of  the  separation  of  re- 
ligious knowledge  from  the  knowledge  of  the  world  as 
much  at  war  with  a  system  of  theology  as  his  theory  of 
our  cognition  of  things  in  themselves.  Man  is  hemmed  in 
by  nature,  to  a  great  extent  governed  by  it,  yet  as  spirit 
rises .  above    nature  and    domineers  over  it  to  live  in  the 

'P.  2(17.  -^P.  218. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITERATURE.  803 

spirit,  war  against  the  world  is  man's  aim  and  proper  des- 
tiny. To  achieve  this  result  he  gives  himself  over  to  re- 
ligion— faith  in  God — as  his  support  and  helper.  But  he 
cannot  find  this  religion  as  a  new  element  outside  himself. 
Man  is  by  nature  religious  or  he  can  have  no  religion ;  re- 
ligion cannot  be  apprehended  as  something  apart  from  na- 
ture ;  man  is  not  at  once  a  part  of  nature  and  independent 
of  it.  When  man  strives  to  attain  a  position  independent 
of  the  world  he  seeks  not  a  good  but  a  position  directed 
by  self,  that  is,  he  strives  to  satisfy  his  own  eudsemonistic 
desires — an  impulse  at  the  basis  of  neither  morality  nor 
religion.  "The  explanation  of  religion,  therefore,  which 
was  to  establish  it  on  a  firm  basis  lands  us  at  last  in  the 
denial  of  religion."^  The  same  result  is  reached  from 
another  position  assumed  by  Eitschl.  He  says:  "All 
forms  of  religious  knowledge  are  direct  value-judgments." 
This  must  mean  the  thing  known  is  of  so  much  value  or 
import  to  us.  Let  the  judgment  be :  deity  is  to  be  as- 
cribed to  Christ*.  The  true  interpretation  of  that  language 
is  :  such  is  the  value  which  the  Church  sets  on  Christ.  The 
attribute  is  not  held  as  inhering  in  him,  is  no  objective 
characteristic,  but  is  simply  the  view  we  adopt  concerning 
him.  "The  separation  of  religious  from  theoretical  knowl- 
edge lands  us  accordingly  in  the  same  conclusion  as  that 
in  which  the  limitation  of  knowledge  to  the  phenomenal 
landed  us,  namely,  relir/ious  mhllism.  Kitschl's  theory  of 
cognition  involves  in  the  last  resort  the  resolution  of  the 
objects  of  knowledge  into  unreal  seeming.  This  same  the- 
ory, with  the  two  methodological  principles  deduced  from 

'P.  250. 


304  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

lis  namel}',  the  limitation  of  knowledge  to  phenomena,  and 
the  separation  of  religious  from  theoretical  knowledge,  ap- 
plied to  theology,  leads  logically  to  the  dissolution  of  theol- 
ogy and  religion  alike  into  illusion  and  phantasmagoria."^ 
Undogmatisches  Christenthum-  is  a  work  which  has  ex- 
cited some  interest  in  Germany.  Its  object  is  to  combat 
the  error  that  Christianity  consists  in  doctrine,  to  show 
that  it  is  a  matter  of  sentiment  and  may  be  maintained 
against  all  scientific  objections.  Its  ruling  idea  is  indi- 
cated by  the  following:  *' Where  only  a  sigh  of  prayer 
rises  from  the  bottom  of  the  heart,  or  where  one  has  a 
single  time,  purely  for  God's  sake,  made  an  offering, 
though. no  one  else  is  aware  of  it,  there  the  holy  fire  of  re- 
ligion is  kindled,  which  all  the  systems  of  the  theologians 
can  only  investigate  and  describe,  but  cannot  sustain,  can- 
not even  kindle — that  holy  fire  which  eradicates  sin  and  pu- 
rifies the  mortal  being  of  man  for  immortality.''^  The 
author  holds  that  law^  prevails  throughout  nature  in  such 
a  way  that  an  intelligent  man  cannot  believe  in  a  mira- 
cle ;  that  the  orthodox  idea  of  inspiration  must  be  re- 
nounced, and  teaches  that  any  revelation  we  may  have  is 
a  revelation  of  God,  not  a  revelation  of  truth;  that  men 
need  God,  not  knowledge  concerning  him.  He  says: 
"Does  any  one  ask  w4iat  we  desire;  it  is  this:  entire  free- 
dom of  investigation,  unconditioned  right  of  criticism  in 
opposition  even  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Church,  the  unre- 
strained privilege   of   acting  according  to  one's    own  im- 


ip.  276. 

^Undogmatisches  Chri!itenthuni.     Voii  Otto  Dreyer,  Dr.  theol.  Su- 
perintendeDtin  Gotlia.   Braimscliweig.  1888. 
^P.  10. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITEPxATrUE.  305 

pulses,  not  the  impulses  of  another,  and  by  the  side  oi^ 
this,  inseparably  bound  with  it,  full  satisfaction  of  the  need 
of  genuinely  religious  authority."^  After  describing  the 
religious  man  he  says :  "  In  such  religious  men  religion 
abides,  not  in  doctrines  and  knowledge,  not  in  habits  and 
practices,  but  in  the  innermost  heart  of  the  personality  it- 
self."- The  author  finds  the  contradiction  between  freedom 
and  authority  solved  in  personality,  and  here  we  find  the 
possibility  of  religion ;  but  it  must  be  a  personality  which 
is  sustained  by  communion  with  God — inspired. 

''  In  the  hght  of  truth  only  the  personality  rooted  in 
God  and  which  flows  immediately  from  it  exists  as  relig- 
ious.''^ •'  The  ultimate  religious  impulse  can  only  be  sat- 
isfied when  knowledge  comes  to  this  point  (Durchbruch) 
that  God  reveals  himself  to  man  in  the  man  fully  made 
one  with  God."^  This  impulse  in  Christ  was  fully  satisfied 
and  he  became  our  trusted  leader,  our  perfect  guide. 
"The  need  of  authority  in  the  pious  soul  is  fully  satisfied 
through  faith  in  Christ. "^  We  have  a  trustworthy  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  given  in  the  Bible,  though  much  concern- 
ing him  must  be  rejected  as  mythical.  The  author's 
conviction  of  the  worthlessness  of  the  current  orthodoxy 
and  of  the  value  of  an  undogmatic  Christianity  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  following:  "Honor  to  the  young  men  who 
draw  back  from  service  in  the  sanctuary  because  they  can- 
not discharge  it  with  truthfulness  !  But  greater  honor  to 
those  who,  because  they  are  conscious  of  being  in  the 
presence  of  God,  of  standing  in  the  eternal  centre  of  Christ- 
ian faith,  do  not  avoid  heavy  work   in  the  promotion  of 

T.  42.  "-v.  69.  3p_  70.  4p.  77.  5p   gg. 


806  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

its  temporal,  external  forms,  and  who,  possessed  of  the 
love  of  Christ,  and  tilled  with  the  spirit  of  the  Reformers, 
are  determined  to  accept  all  the  consequences  of  bearing 
witness  with  unconditioned  fidelity !  On  them  rests  the 
hope  of  our  future."^ 

Ufiitarlanisni;  its  Origin  and  Historijr  This  work  con- 
sists of  sixteen  lectures  by  fourteen  different  authors.  It 
is  a  very  entertaining  and  instructive  presentation  of  the 
present  state  of  Unitarianism,  for  this  is  the  summing  up 
of  the  treatment  of  its  origin  and  history.  The  protest  of 
early  Unitarianism  against  orthodoxy  and  the  subsequent 
revolution  within  the  denomination  itself  is  a  develop- 
ment in  New  England  history  worthy  of  careful  study. 
The  original  movement  maintained,  in  contrast  with 
the  orthodoxy  of  the  time,  so  its  advocates  affirm,  the  sub- 
stantial integrity  and  sanity  of  human  nature.  Man  is 
looked  upon  as  imperfect,  sinful,  but  not  a  ruin.  The 
philosophy  of  the  system  ' 'assumes  that  not  matter  but 
spirit  is  the  basis  and  background  of  the  universe ;  that 
spirit  is  not  the  product  of  matter,  l)ut  that  matter  is  the 
manifestation  of  spirit. "-''  The  outcome  of  the  develop- 
ment of  spirit  is  love.  This  appears  dimly  in  animal  life, 
but  in  human  life  rises  to  devotion  and  self-sacrifice.  The 
suffering  of  the  world  is  not  an  accide  it,  it  is  an  evil  but 
serves  a  higher  good.  This  is  manifested  in  the  lower 
forms  of  existence,  appears  conspicuously  in  the  self-sacri- 


^P.  52. 

^Unitarianism;  its  Origin  and  History.  A  course  of  sixteen  lectures 
delivered  in  Channing  Hall,  Boston.  Boston  American  Unitarian 
Association.  1890. 

»P.  343. 


TIIKOLOOICAL    TATEiiATVRK.  :^()7 

fice  with  which  man  serves  his  fellow-men,  and  reaches  its 
culmination  in  the  life  of  Jesus. 

This  was  considered  a  rational  philosopb}^  and  the 
basis  of  a  rational  religion.  For  a  time  it  satisfied  and 
delighted  its  votaries.  "So  delightful  was  the  sense  of  the 
privilege  of  exercising  reason  on  what  had  hitherto  been 
forbidden  fruit,  such  a  fresh  and  unwonted  sensation  did  it 
comnninicate,  that  no  wonder  it  drew  so  many  able  men 
to  embrace  the  profession  of  the  ministry.  The  moral 
argument  against  Calvinism — what  a  glory  in  heroically 
calling  (and  it  was  heroism  then)  right,  right,  and  cruelty, 
cruelty  and  tyranny,  tyranny,  in  their  own  intrinsic  na- 
ture !  The  contradictions  and  absurdities  of  the  received 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity — what  a  fine  intellectual  invigoration 
in  subjecting  these  to  the  canons  of  a  rational  logic  !"^ 

But  the  animation  produced  in  enthusiastic  young 
minds  by  a  religion  of  these  dimensions  could  not  last  long. 
And  nothing  was  more  stale  and  flat  than  the  pure  Unitarian- 
ism  of  New^  England  finally  became.  "We  are  good  and  let  us 
be  good"  is  a  feeble  gospel  for  fallen  humanity.  Channing 
himself  expressed  his  disappointment  over  the  result  of  the 
movement  to  w4iich  he  had  given  his  energies  and  his  elo- 
quence. Tiffany  says  in  one  of  the  lectures  before  us :  "I 
beg  everybody's  pardon,  but  one  more  generation  of  the 
Hke,  and  Unitarianism  would  have  degenerated  into  a  sim- 
ple gospel  for  the  Philistines. "^  It  was  saved  from  death 
and  decay  by  the  infusion  of  new  life  at  the  hands  of  such 
men  as  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  and  Theodore  Parker.  The 
works  of  these  men  were  as  alien  to  Unitarianism   as   to 


'P.  205.     =^P.207. 


308  SYSTEJIATIC    TIIEOLoaV. 

ortliodoxy.  They  were  stoutly  opposed  by  such  men  as 
Professor  Andrews  Norton,  but  the  denomination  was  in  no 
condition  to  carry  on  a  contest  with  the  rising  Transcenden- 
talism., and  finally  yielded  to  and  accepted  its  influence. 
The  first  period  of  Unitarianism  closed,  it  is  said,  with 
Channing  who  died  in  1842.  Four  years  prior  to  that 
date  Emerson  delivered  his  Harvard  address,  which  called 
out  the  vigorous  protests  of  his  former  associates  and  sig- 
nalized his  separation  from  the  religious  fellowship  of  the 
Christian  community. 

Transcendentalism  is  described  as  the  power  to  recognize 
the  noble,  the  divine  in  life.  This  it  insists  upon :  you 
must  see  with  your  ow^n  eyes  the  beauty  and  the  glory. 
This  principle  it  made  co-terminous  with  the  universe. 
To  this  movement  Unitarianism  owes  its  present  vitality. 
"Trancendentalism  melted  quite  thoroughly  the  crust 
that  was  beginning  to  form  on  the  somewhat  chilly  cur- 
rent of  liberal  theology.  Indeed,  it  is  the  great  felicity  of 
free  religious  thought  in  this  country,  in  its  later  un- 
folding, that  it  had  its  birth  in  a  sentiment  so  poetic,  so 
generous,  so  devout,  so  open  to  all  the  humanities  as  well 
as  to  the  widest  sympathies  of  philosophy  and  the  higher 
literature."^ 

It  is  amusing  to  notice,  that  a  liberal  theology  may  not 
be  liberal  enough,  that  everyone  who  takes  a  stand  finds 
that  someone  beyond  him  does  not  believe  in  standing  any- 
where. Mr.  Salter,  speaking  of  a  National  Conference  of 
Unitarians,  says  :  it  "had  the  alternative  distinctly  before  it, 
formally  to  avow  those  broader  principles  or  to  confess 

'P.  219. 


77/  E( )  L  O  G  I( '.  I L    L I  TEH.  1  77  7i'  E.  309 

"the  Lord  Jesus  Cbrist ;"  and  it  chose  the  later.  Unitarian- 
ism  thereby  ranged  itself  among  the  Christian  denomina- 
tions— the  freest  indeed  of  them  all,  and  allowing  many 
varieties  of  belief,  but  all  within  the  fundamental  Christian 
limitations — and  closed  the  door  which  was  opening  out  on 
the  relicrion  of  the  future."^ 


S.     Apologetics. 

Under  this  head  we  call  attention  to  two  works, 
the  first  a  work  of  special  value :  Supernatural  Eevel- 
ation."  C.  M.  Mead.  D.  D.  This  work  of  Professor  Mead, 
consisting  of  lectures  on  the  L.  P.  Stone  foundation, 
delivered  at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  is  written 
with  the  purpose  of  showing  that  we  have  a  revelation 
from  God,  and  that  it  is  confirmed  as  coming  from  Him 
by  supernatural  evidences.  It  is  a  treatise  on  the  old 
subject  of  Christian  Apologetics,  and  treats  of  the  old 
evidences  of  Christianity  as  they  have  been  known  and 
trusted  for  cen*^^uries.  The  author  is  not  ambitious  to 
present  new  proofs  of  a  revelation  which  has  been  the 
support  of  the  Christian  Church  for  fifty  generations; 
but  he  does  aim  to  rescue  the  old  evidences  from  the 
doubts  which  have  been  thrown  about  them  in  modern 
times.  In  this  attempt  he  has  shown  much  learuing  and 
skill.     He  has  follow^ed  through  with  patience  the  argumen- 

^ Ethical  Religion,  p.  2G7. 

^Supernatural  Revelation:  An  Essay  concerning  the  Basis  of  th« 
Christian  Faith.  By  C.  M.  Mead,  Ph.  D.,  D.  D.  Lately  Professor 
in  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  New  York.  Anson  D.  F.  Ran- 
dolph A-   Co.   1889. 


;U0  SYSTFJIATIC    THEOLOGY. 

tations  of  rationalizing  Clifistians,  the  subtle  sj^eculations 
of  scientists,  the  dissertations  of  psychologists  and  philos- 
ophers, and  has  carried  their  reasonings  forward  into 
the  realms  of  morals  and  religion,  and  has  shown  how 
inadequate  their  conclusions  often  are  to  explain  some 
of  the  clearest  facts  of  human  life.  While  he  accepts 
the  products  of  modern  research  in  history,  in  the  in- 
vestigations of  nature,  and  in  literary  criticism,  he  shows 
that  these  work  no  changes  in  the  substance  of  our  religion 
or  the  validity  of  the  evidence  on  which  it  rests.  What- 
ever modification  of  former  views  concerning  inspiration 
or  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures  he  ma}^  embrace,  these 
rise  not  from  any  validity  of  modern  skepticism,  but 
from  a  more  cautious  estimate  of  revelation  and  its  ev- 
idences than  that  of  some  earlier  defenders  of  the  faith. 
The  author  begins  with  remarks  upon  the  nature  of 
knowledge  and  attempts  to  show  that  God  may  be  prop- 
erly considered  an  object  of  our  cognition.  He  says : 
<'Sure  knowledge  is  the  product  of  the  combination  and 
comparison  of  individual  cognitions."^  "With  regard,  for 
example,  to  the  reality  of  an  outward  world,  everyone 
seems  to  have  a  direct  perception  of  it.  But  this  im- 
pression may  be  a  mistaken  one.  One  may  be  deluded 
by  a  purely  subjective  affection  of  his  own  nerves.  If, 
however,  he  finds  that  everybody  else  has  a  similar  im- 
pression, he  sees  that  his  experience  is  not  to  be  explained 
as  a  delusion."^  -'All  knowledge  is  thus  seen  to  be  a 
composite  thing.  It  is  made  up  of  two  elements :  (1) 
the   direct,    immediate    perception    or    impression    which 


'P.  16.    2p.  17. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITKUATUUK.  311 

the  individual  has;  and  (2)  the  ratification  and  educa- 
tion of  that  impression  by  the  general  community  of 
individuals. ''  If  either  of  these  elements  is  wanting  there 
is  no  assured  knowledge.  If  the  first  is  wanting  the 
second  must  be  also  wanting.  If  the  second  should  seem 
to  exist  as  a  concurrent  testimony  of  mankind,  it  still 
would  be  a  mere  rumor,  would  have  no  force  without 
the  first.  This  holds  true  in  reference  to  our  knowledge  of 
God.  ''Testimony  concerning  a  Divine  Being  cannot  be 
taken  as  an  ultimate  and  adequate  proof  of  the  fact  that 
there  is  such  a  Being.  The  faith  in  God  may  be,  and 
is,  a  communicated  faith;  but  we  cannot  reasonably  rest 
our  faith  on  testimony  alone.  There  must  be  some  more 
original  and  conclusive  evidence  of  the  divine  existence 
than  is  found  in  the  mere  prevalence  of  the  belief.  If 
theism  is  founded  intact,  then  somewhere — either  now  and 
always,  or  at  certain  special  times — there  must  have  been 
a  direct  knowledge,  an  evidence,  concerning  the  Deity,  which 
serves  as  the  foundation  of  the  testimony  and  gives  it  its 
value."  Can  we  find  any  such  basis  for  the  theistic  belief  ? 
Can  an  individual  perception  or  impression  be  pointed  to  as 
the  basis,  and  can  confirmatory  experiences  be  adduced? 
The  author  admits  that  the  perception  of  God  is  not  analo- 
gous to  the  perception  of  the  external  world,  rejects  the  idea 
that  a  knowledge  of  self  is  also  a  knowledge  of  God,  or  im- 
plies a  knowledge  of  God,  but  holds  that  theism  is  a  belief 
springing  from  the  direct  operation  of  the  individual  mind. 
We  cannot,  indeed,  find  when  or  how  the  first  idea  of  God 
entered  the  human  mind,  for  the  possessor  of  that  indi- 
vidual mind  is  gone,  and  we  have  the  idea  communicated 
to  us  before  it  can  be  developed  within  ourselves.     Yet  we 


312  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

know  what  now  defends  the  idea  against  assaults,  and  we 
may  beheve,  what  j^rolects  the  idea  would  produce  it. 
If  this  accounts  for  the  origin  of  the  idea,  it  excludes 
dreams  and  superstitious  imaginings  as  well  as  intuition 
as  the  source  of  our  idea  of  God.  What  is  it,  then, 
which  maintains  among  men  the  idea  of  the  divine  ex- 
istence '?  Let  theism  and  atheism  enter  into  conflict  and 
theism  only  gives  a  meaning  to  the  world  and  to  life, 
while  it  impels  us  to  go  beyond  any  import  which  we  can 
comprehend  to  believe  in  personal  power  which  has  a  pur- 
pose accomplished  in  the  entire  process  of  the  moral  world. 
Of  this  power  we  may  say  that  we  cannot  help  believing  in 
its  existence ;  and  this  is  about  as  far  as  we  can  go  in 
knowledge  of  any  kind.  This  belief,  though  it  falls  short  of 
demonstration,  would  probably  sustain  the  conviction  that 
God  exists.  But  we  may  confirm  this  belief  by  additional 
testimony,  that  is,  by  revelation. 

x\s  a  factor  in  theistic  belief  revelation  is  evidence  at 
first  hand.  "  It  is  like  the  personal  appearance  of  a  man 
about  whom  we  have  heretofore  known  onl}^  by  conjecture 
or  hearsay.  It  is  evidence  in  addition  to  that  which  is 
found  in  those  innate  tendencies  which  incline  men  to 
adopt  theistic  conceptions."^  It  is  true  that  revelation  will 
be  at  once  rejected  by  the  atheist,  unbelief  concerning 
God  would  carry  with  it  disbelief  in  revelation.  "But 
given  a  general  disposition  to  believe  in  a  Divine  Being, 
given  a  general  desire  to  be  assured  of  the  reality  and  of 
the  character  of  a  God  already  believed  in,  or  at  least 
conjectured — then  a  revelation  will  be  effective  and  lasting 


'P.  58. 


THEOLOGICAL    LITER  ATT  HE.  313 

in  its  tendency  to  establish  men  in  the  sure  conviction 
that  there  is  indeed  a  God.  The  revelation  when  accepted 
as  such,  furnishes  a  ground  of  certainty  concerning  the 
Divine  Being  which  exceeds  and  in  a  sense  supersedes  the 
belief  which  may  have  existed  before."^  AVhen  Christ's 
disciples  came  to  believe  in  their  Master,  then  they  could 
accept  his  faith  in  God  and  make  it  their  own.  "  Because 
he  believed  in  God,  because  he  claimed  to  have  come  from 
God  and  to  have  revealed  the  gracious  purposes  of  God, 
therefore  they  could  not  but  believe  in  God."-  The  result 
in  such  a  case  does  not  depend  on  the  genuineness  of  the 
revelation  but  on  the  belief  in  it.  Any  accepted  revelation 
would  have  the  same  effect.  It  may  of  course  be  objected 
that  there  are  many  revelations  and  we  cannot  from  this 
source  acquire  any  trustworthy  confirmation  of  our  belief 
in  God ;  but  it  may  be  replied,  either  that  all  revelations 
contain  truth,  being  derived  from  primeval  revelation ;  or 
that  there  is  one  which  is  genuine,  perhaps  more  than 
one  which  we  can  distinguish  from  those  that  are 
spurious. 

The  author  is  inclined  to  hold  to  a  primeval  revelation. 
He  says:  '-Analogy,  we  conclude,  favors  rather  than 
otherwise,  the  theory  of  a  primeval  revelation."^  He 
thinks  it  not  best  to  be  overawed  by  the  assertion,  that  it  is 
unphilosophical  to  entertain  such  a  belief ;  and  adds,  that 
if  it  is  easy  to  disprove  such  a  supposition,  the  disproof 
has  not  yet  been  given  to  the  world.  He,  however,  gives 
his  attention  mainly  to  the  evidences  of  the  super- 
natural   origin    of    Christianity,    confining     his     thoughts 

ip.  59.  -P.  60.  ^P.  78. 


314  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

mainly  to  the  external, evidences,  the  form  in  which  Chris- 
tianity presents  itself.  He  defends  the  old  view  of  Chris- 
tian evidences,  what  might  be  called  the  common-sense 
view,  accepting  the  evidences  as  the  mind  naturally  and 
spontaneously  ac<?epts  them,  as  the  Bible  authors  supposed 
they  would  be  accepted. 

About  one-third  of  the  book  is  devoted  to  the 
consideration  of  miracles.  We  shall  not  follow  him 
through  bis  elaborate  treatise  on  this  topic ;  it  will 
be  sufficient  to  notice  a  few  salient  points  after  re- 
marking that  he  pursues  those  who  reject  miracles  and 
those  who  tamper  with  them  through  all  their  winding,  and 
patiently,  clearly  and  convincingly  answers  their  objec- 
tions and  exposes  their  faulty  logic.  In  this  part  of  the 
book  he  cites  more  than  a  hundred  different  authors, 
bringing  under  review  opinions  both  new  and  old. 

His  definition  of  a  miracle  is  broader  than  is  some- 
times given.  "In  general  miracles  are  to  be  defined  as  events 
produced  by  special,  extraordinary,  divine  agenc}^  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  ordinary  agencies  of  inanimate  and 
animate  nature."^  He  rejects  the  idea  that  they  are  viola- 
tions of  nature,  holds  them  to  be  independent  of 
natural  law,  and  therefore  not  to  be  described  by  their 
harmony  with,  or  opposition  to  law.  And  whether  they 
are  the  product  of  supernatural  force,  one  is  to  decide  by 
bis  judgment,  not  by  his  senses.  He  rejects  all  these  ex- 
planations which  refer  miracles  to  occult  laws  in  nature — 
the  Strasburg  clock  theory,  as  he  terms  it — and  accepts 
nothing    as    a    miracle  except    that  which  is  wrought  by 


'P.  97. 


THKOLOGICAL    LITKUATriiE.  WVa 

the  immetliate  intervention  of  divine  power.  He  holds 
that  no  oxtraordinarj  evidence  is  vecjuired  to  convince  one 
who  accepts  the  benig  of  God  and  the  probahihty  of  reve- 
hxtion,  of  the  fact  of  niiiacles,  and  cites  the  resurrection  of 
Christ  as  a  miracle  firmly  established.  He  thinks  that 
those  Christians  who  accept  miracles  with  difficulty  yet 
claim  to  have  special  admiration  of  the  cliaracter  of 
Christ  stultify  themselves.  •'  He  who  admits  the  sinless- 
ness  of  Christ,  unless  he  does  so  blindly,  because  others  have 
done  it  before,  can  find  no  justifying  reason  for  his  belief  j  un- 
less he  assumes,  together  with  the  sinlessness,  a  unique- 
ness of  nature  or  of  relation  wdiich  involves  all  the  essen- 
tial works  of  a  miracle.  When,  therefore,  one  is  troubled 
by  the  allegations  of  particular  miracles  wrought  by  Christ, 
but  is  ready  to  admit  Christ  himself  to  be  the  one  sinless 
individual  of  the  race,  and  the  one  man  especially  com- 
missioned by  God  to  communicate  the  divine  counsels  to 
man,  we  can  only  call  this  a  conspicuous  example  of 
straining  oni  a  gnat  and  swallowing  a  camel."^ 

Professor  Mead  holds  to  the  view  of  inspiration  ordi- 
narily entertained  in  this  countr}^ — an  inspiration  of  the 
writers  of  the  Bible  specifically  different  from  that  of  or- 
dinary believers.  The  different  books  of  the  Bible,  he  be- 
lieves, were  prepared  for  the  place  they  hold  in  the  Church, 
and  are  not  collected  as  simply  the  best  among  much  in- 
spired material  which  the  world  has  produced.  He  holds 
also  to  the  inspiration  of  the  entire  Bible,  says  that  H.  Tim. 
iii,  16  affirms  the  universal  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment.    The  arguments  which  he  adduces  in  favor  of  his 

^P.  155. 


316  SYSTEMATIC    THEOLOGY. 

position  are  not  different  from  those  found  elsewhere,  but 
the  following  is  worthy  of  special  notice.  "The  typical 
significance  which  Christ  and  his  disciples  found  in  the 
Old  Testament  indicates  that  they  regarded  it  as  divinely 
and  peculiarly  inspired.  Even  if  one  should  disagree  with 
them  in  their  interpretation,  the  argument  is  not  affected. 
The  fact  that  they  found  a  wealth  of  typical  meaning  in 
what  might  seem  to  be  of  slight  significance  indicates  that 
they  conceived  the  Scriptures  to  be  in  a  peculiar  sense  in- 
spired of  God."^ 

The  author  holds  that  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures 
is  mediate,  that  is,  is  such  as  Christ  imparts  to  them. 
"They  are  authoritative  as  a  written  edict  is  which  pur- 
ports to  have  come  from  a  sovereign :  the  written  w'ords 
have  no  authority  except  as  they  make  known  the  will  of 
him  in  whom  the  authority  resides."^  Since  the  Scriptures 
were  written  by  imperfect  and  fallible  men  their  absolute 
inerrancy  can  only  be  maintained  by  showing  that  they 
were  so  inspired  as  to  be  guarded  against  error,  but  such 
an  inspiration  has  not,  as  the  author  thinks,  been  proved. 
Still  he  considers  that  there  is  such  a  presumption  in  favor 
of  the  trustworthiness  of  the  Scriptures  "  that  the  burden 
of  proof  may  ahvays  be  rightly  thrown  upon  the  man  who 
brings  a  charge  of  error  even  respecting  minor  and  inci- 
dental matters."^  He  holds,  too,  that  the  Bible  is  an  au- 
thoritative and  ample  fountain  of  religious  instruction  and 
religious  life.  While  men  must  interpret  as  best  they  can, 
and  may  in  some  instances  misinterpret,on  the  other  hand, 
Christian  truth  is  a  revelation,   and  a  revelation  so  given 


T.  301.  -P.  326.  ^P.  331, 


TIIEOLOGK  W  L     L I TJ-JL'A  Tl  'UK.  317 

as  to  be  readily  understood  and  as  justly  to  claim  accept- 
ance as  the  regulative  principle  of  human  conduct.  He 
does  not,  as  some  do,  base  the  authority  of  the  l^ible  on 
the  bare  assumption  that  it  is  the  AYord  of  God.  This  ex- 
pression he  considers  comparatively  modern  yet  admits  its 
propriety,  while  he  also  accepts  in  an  important  sense  the 
expression,  "the  Bible  contains  the  AVord  of  God,"  What- 
ever terms  are  used  he  holds  the  entire  Bible  to  be  inspired. 
*'  That  there  is  a  human  element  in  the  Scriptures  we  now 
take  for  granted.  When,  however,  we  speak  of  them  as 
characterized  by  both  a  human  and  a  divine  element,  how 
do  we  understand  the  two  to  be  rehited?  Can  we  sift  out 
the  human  and  leave  the  divine  unadulterated  ?  *  *  *  * 
Such  a  mechanical  mixture  of  the  divine  and  the  human 
is  well-nigh  inconceivable,  and  is  certainly  attested  by  no 
evidence.  The  union  of  the  divine  and  the  human  must 
rather  be  regarded  as  a  blending  of  the  two  into  one, — an 
interpenetration  which  makes  a  nice  dissection  impos- 
sible."! 

One  of  the  most  suggestive  and  interesting  of  the  chap- 
ters of  Professor  Mead's  book  is  the  last,  on  the  conditions 
and  limits  of  biblical  criticism.  We  shall  not  take  space 
to  present  his  views  in  full,  but  the  following  conclusions 
to  which  he  comes  are  important :  "  Neither  critical  research 
nor  Christian  insight  will  ever  effect  a  reconstruction  or 
expurgation  of  the  Canon  of  Sacred  Scripture.  Both  these 
forces  operated  in  the  original  fixing  of  the  Canon.  *  * 
*  *  The  times  and  the  men  are  now  gone  that  were  best 
able  to  determine  what  books  deserved  to  be  reckoned  in 

»P.  3G7. 


318  SYSTEM AriC    THEOLOGY. 

the  Biblical  Canon.  Criticism,  however  subtle  and  learned 
will  never  be  able  to  prove  the  early  Chnrch  to  have  been 
mistaken  in  its  judgment  respecting  the  authorship  of  any 
of  the  biblical  books.'"  Again  he  says:  "Criticism  can 
never  convince  Christendom  that  pious  fraud  had  an  im- 
portant part  in  determining  the  substance  or  the  form  of 
the  Scriptures."-^  In  this  connection  he  show3  that  the 
Tendenz  theory  of  the  Tubingen  school,  besides  benig  un- 
tenable on  its  own  ground,  is  at  war  with  the  common 
sense  of  the  world.  He  shows  also  that  the  Kuenen-Well- 
hausen  theory'  of  the  origin  of  the  Old  Testament,  instead 
of  resting  on  a  "  legal-liction,"  as  its  authors  euphemistically 
describe  its  foundation,  involves  outright  falsehood.  In 
reference  to  Christ's  endorsement  cf  the  Old  Testament  he 
says  :  "If  Jesus  was  either  ? o  ignorant  as  not  to  know  that 
the  Scriptures  to  which  he  ascribed  divine  authority  were 
vitiated  by  fraud,  or  so  unscrupulous  as  to  endorse  them 
although  he  knew  the  fraud,  then  he  can  not  be  the  Truth, 
the  Way,  and  the  Life."^^ 

We  have  given  the  more  space  to  Professor  Mead  be- 
cause he  is  familiar  with  the  latest  phases  of  critical  and 
skeptical  thought. 

Witnesses  to  Christ.^  This  work  seems  to  us  one  of  the 
happiest  defences  of  Christianity.  The  argument  is  not 
formal,  but  persuasive.  It  presents  the  considerations  in 
favor  of  Christianity  in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that  it  is 


ip.  363.  ^F.  370.  ^P.  385. 

*Tbe  Baldwin  Lectures.  Witnesses  to  Christ.  A  contribution  to 
Christian  Apologetics.  By  Wlllian  Clark,  M.  A.,  Professor  of  Philoso- 
phy in  Trinity   College,   Toronto.      Chicago.  A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co. 

1888. 


TJIEOLOGU  \  1  /.     L I TKIL 1  77  'UE.  :U9 

natural,  easy,  and  really  for  a  thinking  man,  almost 
inevitable  to  believe  in  it.  One  asks,  on  laying  down  the 
book,  what  philosophy  of  life  can  be  equal  to  Christianity  ? 
What  philosophy  can  approach  it?  Unbelief,  irreligious 
culture,  materialism  and  pessimism  are  shown  to  be  un- 
satisfactory, debasing,  inhuman.  The  Christian  faith  is 
shown  to  be  elevating,  cheering,  promotive  of  present 
happiness  as  well  as  of  the  hope  of  future  blessedness. 
The  scheme  is  shown  also  to  be  consistent  with  the  deipands 
of  the  intellect,  that  is,  to  coincide  with  the  fundamental 
principles  of  thought  and  to  make  no  undue  tax  upon  the 
credulity  of  those  spiritually-minded. 

The  author's  mode  of  argumentation  may  be  shown  by  a 
reference  to  one  or  two  of  the  topics  which  he  brings  into 
his  discussions.  In  comparing  heathen  and  Christian 
civilizations  he  says :  "It  is  true,  indeed,  that  in  Plato's 
view  the  moral  life  of  a  well-ordered  state  was  the  highest 
conceivable  morality,  and  that  in  the  ancient  state  every 
citizen  w^as  bound  to  sacrifice  himself,  if  necessary  to  lay 
down  his  life,  for  the  good  of  the  community,  and  thus  it 
micjht  seem  that  individualism  and  selfishness  Avere  con- 
demned."^  After  pointing  out  the  limited  range  of  the  privi- 
leges of  citizenship  he  concludes  :  "Thus  a  system  which 
seemed  likely  to  destroy  selfishness  and  build  up  a  relig- 
ion of  humanity,  turns  out  to  be  merely  constitutive  of  a 
privileged  and  limited  aristocracy. "- 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  lectures  before  us  is 
that  on  The  Unity  of  Christian  Doctrine.  The  author  points 
out  with  much  ingenuity  the  oneness  of  sentiment  at  the 


T.  58. 


320  >■  y STEM  A  TJ( '    TIIEOLOG  Y. 

foundation  of  diverse  doctrines.  Though  he  may  express 
some  views  from  which  many  would  dissent,  his  thought  is 
none  the  less  vahuible.  He  notices  that  there  can  hardly 
be  more  perfectly  contrasted  parties  than  those  which 
stand  opposed  to  each  other  on  the  doctrines  of  election, 
original  sin,  and  eternal  punishment.  Yet  he  shows  that 
they  all  stand  upon  the  same  fundamental  principles  and 
that  the  different  views  may  be  so  stated  as  not  to  contra- 
dict each  other.  What  he  says  of  one  of  these  topics  is  implied 
as  true  of  the  others  :  "But  we  believe  that  a  careful  examina- 
tion even  of  the  extreme  theories  which  have  been  enunci- 
ated on  the  subject  of  human  depravity  will  satisfy  us  that 
some  portion  of  the  difference  may  be  removed  by  a  more 
careful  definition  of  the  terms  employed,  and  still  more  by 
taking  into  account  the  different  points  of  view  of  the  con- 
flicting theories."^  On  this  subject,  depravity,  however,  he 
does  not  think  unity  of  sentiment  is  to  be  attained  wholly 
by  compromise.  "It  is  very  curious  to  note  how,  in  recent 
years,  science  has  come  to  the  aid  of  theology  against  a 
shallow  view  of  the  nature  of  man.  *  *  *  It  is  satisfactorily 
established  by  the  research  of  the  scientific  students  of 
man's  nature,  that,  instead  of  coming  into  the 
world  pure  and  clean,  as  some  have  asserted,  we  do 
indeed  come  with  tendencies  to  all  kinds  of  conduct  in- 
herited from  the  character  and  constitution  of  our  fore- 
fathers. There  are  few  things  more  remarkable  than  the 
way  in  which  thinkers  of  all  schools  are  coming  to  an 
agreement  on   this    subject."  '"^ 

The  author's  interpretation  of  the  categories  of  thought 

'P.  133.  -P.  135. 


THEOLOGICAL    LJTEUATVRE.  :]31 

is  wortli}^  of  notice.  The  mind  combines  the  facts  revealed 
in  the  sense  throngh  the  ideas  of  cause,  substance  etc. 
These  ideas  or  categories  of  thought  are  furnished  by  the 
mind,  not  received  through  the  senses  ;  but  they  furnish  the 
principles  by  which  that  which  comes  through  the  sense  is 
organized  and  classified.  These  principles  of  classification 
are  laws  of  nature.  Whence  came  these  laws?  The  mind 
furnishes  them  but  does  not  create  them.  "They  are  in- 
tluences  of  mind  from  the  phenomena  of  nature.  They 
have  a  certain  kind  of  existence,  for  they  are  actually 
operating.  Where  then  do  they  exist?  There  can  be 
.but  one  answer  to  that  question.  They  exist  in  a  Mind 
which  bears  a  certain  resemblance  to  our  own.  Tlie  mind 
of  man  perceives  in  nature  the  working  of  a  mind  to  which 
it  is  itself  akin.'"^  Aside  from  this  method  of  peiceiving 
the  divine  being  we  know  Him,  ascending  to  our  author,  as 
the  basis  of  all  thought.  "God  is  the  necessary  and  uni- 
versal postulate  of  all  human  life  and  thought  and  action. 
He  is  the  ground  of  all  our  knowledge ;  for  all  thought  be- 
comes confused  when  He  is  banished  or  ignored."-  The 
perception  of  God  through  the  categories  would  find  less 
acceptance  than  the  idea  that  He  is  the  postulate  of  all  our 
thinking,  but  we  doubt  the  practical  efficiency  of  either, 
except  among  those  who  already  believe  in  His  existence 
and  providential  government. 

C.       ETHICS. 

Etlucal  Relir/ion.^     This    work    consists    of    seventeen 
lectures  "given  for  the  most  part  before  the    Society  for 

iPp.  161-173.  P.  2176. 

■^Ethical  Religion,  by  William  Macldntire  Salter.    Boston,  Roberts 
lU-others,  1889. 


322  -         SYSTEJIATIC    THEOLOGY. 

Ethical  Culture  of  Chicago."  It  represents  a  movement 
which  may  well  attract  the  notice  of  thinking  men,  a 
movement  aiming  to  make  morality  the  religion  of 
humanity.  The  author  of  the  lectures  manifests  a  pro- 
found sympathy  with  his  fellowmen,  especially  wath  the 
needy  and  suffering.  He  exhibits  a  most  earnest  desire  to 
see  and  to  promote  the  advancement  of  the  race  in  virtue 
and  in  happiness.  He  shows  a  keen  appreciation  of 
morality  in  its  purest  and  most  delicate  forms.  His  lec- 
tures were  addressed  to  a  society  inaugurating  a  move- 
ment towards  the  perfection  of  humanity.  Contrasting 
ethics  with  science,  he  says:  "Science  is  not  ultimate. 
It  tells  us  simply  what  is ;  it  tells  us  nothing  of 
w4iat  ought  to  be.  What  ought  to  be — that  is  re- 
ported to  us  by  a  higher  faculty  than  that  of 
scientific  observation ;  it  is  an  assertion,  a  demand  of  the 
conscience.  Here,  then,  is  to  my  mind  the  true  basis  of 
our  movement.  It  is  the  rock  of  conscience,  the  eternal 
laws  that  announce  themselves  in  man's  moral  na- 
ture. *  *  *  It  may  .  be  that  our  senses  have 
never  revealed  to  us  a  perfectly  just  man;  that  we  have 
never  known  or  heard  of  an  absolutely  just  govern- 
ment. None  the  less  does  conscience  say^  to  every  man : 
'  Thou  oughtest  to  be  just.'  And  if  it  could  find  voices 
clear  and  strong  enough,  it  would  publish  aloud  to  every 
community  and  every  state  to-day,  '  There  is  no  other  law 
for  you  save  that  of  absolute  justice,  and  in  the  measure 
that  you  fail  therein,  you  have  no  sanctity  and  no 
defence.'  Conscience,  in  a  word,  ushers  us  into  an  ideal 
realm.  Genuine  Ethics  have  in  this  respect  more  in  com- 
mon with  art  than  with   science.     *  *  *     Art  is  the  reali- 


ETHICS.  323 

zation  of  the  beautiful ;  Ethics  means  the  reahzation  of 
the  good.  As  we  look  on  men  and  women,  we  see  the 
possibilities  of  the  perfect  that  are  in  them — we  think  of 
Avhat  they  are  meant  to  be,  rather  than  what  they  are.  We 
are  to  regard  ourselves  and  society  about  us  as  plastic 
material,  in  which  the  divine  ideas  of  goodness  have  be- 
gun to  take  form,  but  have  never  reached  adequate  form, 
and  are  so  hemmed  in  and  hindered,  that  if  we  judged  with 
the  senses  alone  we  might  doubt  if  they  existed ;  and 
.yet  to  the  eye  of  the  soul  are  still  there,  and  need  only  to 
be  setn  and  believed  in  to  again  stir  and  move,  and  to 
shape  human  life  to  finer  forms  and  nobler  issues."^ 
,  We  have  quoted  somewhat  at  length,  because  the 
I)assage  may  be  considered  the  confession  of  faith  of  a 
church  which  hopes  to  become  the  universal  Church  of 
humanity.  Everyone  must  regard  so  high  aims  with 
sympathy,  even  if  they  ought  to  be  still  higher;  and  every- 
one must  wish  success  to  noble  endeavors,  thougli  the 
means  adopted  for  their  attainment  tend  to  defeat  rather 
than  success. 

In  order  to  attain  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  this  religion 
of  humanity  there  are  some  things  valued  in  other  religions 
which  are  to  be  renounced.  We  can  have  no  longer  an 
over-ruling  personal  God.  "Duty  is  ordinarily  divided 
into  duties  to  man  and  duties  to  God.  But  there  are  no 
duties  to  God  in  the  sense  implied,  nor  have  we  reason  to 
suppose  that  God  as  so  conceived  exists.  '  God  '  is  the 
infinite  element  in  all  duty,  its  eternal  basis,  without  w4iich 
duty  and   man   and  the  world  would    alike    disappear. "- 


'P.  295-6-7.     =P.  308. 


324  *S'  i;S' TEMA  TU '    THEOL  0 G  Y. 

''There  is  a  God  in  every  man,  and  if.  is  for  us  to  let  him 
speak,  and  to  hear  him ;  and  not  till  we  do  this  is  the  true 
aim  of  our  heing  carried  out."^  Prayer  also  must  be 
given  up.  "If  we  must  pray,  let  us  pray  to  men  ;  for  there 
all  the  trouble  lies."'^  "  A  voice  from  out  the  unseen  itself 
seems  to  say :  '  Arise,  0  Man,  from  thy  knees  and  act !  I 
call  thee  to  be  not  a  suppliant,  but  a  creator.'"^  The 
Bible  is  of  course  a  worn-out  book.  Its  commendation  of 
righteousness  is  certainly  to  be  approved,  and  was  once 
effective,  but  the  book  is  no  longer  of  value,  its  style  is  not 
adapted  to  the  age,  its  narratives  can  no  longer  be  ac- 
cepted as  true,  no  one  can  now  believe  its  promises  of 
future  earthly  prosperity  or  its  doctrine  of  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven.  Religion  as  it  has  been  known  is  to  be  renounced, 
though  the  ethical  school  would  retain  the  name  and  make 
it  mean  a  longing  after  the  ideal  of  humanity.  It  is  the 
homesickness  of  the  soul,  its  claim  to  a  place  where  har- 
mony and  peace  prevail,  but  religion  as  it  has  been  known 
on  earth  is  to  be  detested.  "  I  think  nothing  can  be 
clearer  to  the  student  of  the  early  history  of  man  than 
that  religion  and  moralily  were  altogether  distinct  in  their 
origin,  and  that  religion  was  simply  a  contrivance  to  ward 
off  danger  or  to  win  advantage  for  one's  self  or  for  one's 
tribe."*  Christianity  must  of  course  fall  in  the  general 
wreck  of  the  old  religious  ideas.  It  was  really  destroyed 
by  Protestantism  and  the  freedom  of  thought  which  it  en- 
couraged. But  Protestantism  is  itself  doomed  also,  though 
it  performed  much  noble  work.  It  has  no  fundamental 
idea  of  its  own  to  commend  it  to  humanity.     And  Unita- 


ip.  178.  "P.  19.  T.  127.  *P.  91. 


ETHICS.  325 

rianism,  the  truest  form  of  Protestantism,  has  dried  up 
also,  and  is  a  faihire.  It  has  voted  itself  to  be  Christian, 
and  must  be  laid  away  with  Christianity  as  a  relic  of  the 
past." 

Mr.  Salter  confesses  to  an  admiration  for  Jesus,  in 
which  he  differs  from  some  of  his  friends.  Jesus  is  to  him 
*'no  paragon,  no  model  of  spotless  virtue  or  of  infallible 
wisdom,"  but  he  is  to  him  an  inspiration.  Jesus  believed 
in  miracles,  in  Providence,  in  a  kingdom  of  God,  all  which 
are  to  be  rejected,  but  still  he  stirs  the  heart  and  wakes 
the  mind  to  noble  thought  and  the  struggle  for  better 
things.  Mr.  Salter  would  have  all  the  race  bound  together 
in  one  religious  body  by  the  creed  ^'Duty  hinds."  This 
must  be  supreme.  In  other  things  there  must  be  liberty. 
Men  may  be  theists  or  atheists,  ^'deists  or  Christians,  as 
they  like,  but  they  must  bow  before  this  truth.  Duty   binds 


PRACTICAL   THEOLOGY. 


PAKT  I. 


PRESENT    STATE 
or 

STUDIES  IN  HOMILETICS. 

BY 

KEY.  FEANKLIN   W.  FISK, 
Peofessok  or  Sacked  Ehetoric 

IN 

Chicago  THEOiiOGiCAL  Seminaey. 


INTEODUCTOEY    NOTE. 

The  aim  of  the  writer,  in  this  paper,  is  to  give  such 
an  impartial  review  of  the  vokimes  noticed,  as  may  be 
helpful  to  young  ministers.  This  is  the  exact  object  of 
the  paper  which  is  mostly  confined  to  books  in  this  de- 
partment, published  during  the  last  year. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THEORETICAL  HOMILETICS— PREACHING. 


The  t'wenty  Colloquies  in  this  volume  are  valuable 
both  for  the  instruction  contained  in  them,  and  for  the 
insight  given  into  the  condition  of  preaching  in  the  Church 
of  England.  These  Colloquies  are  represented  as  having 
taken  place  between  persons  of  very  diverse  social  position, 
culture,  and  employment,  so  as  to  reflect  the  general 
sentiments  of  the  community.  They  are  written  in  a 
vivacious,  though  somewhat  diffuse  style,  and  they  set 
forth  with  great  frankness  many  of  the  defects  of  a  style  of 
preaching  not  confined  to  the  English  Church. 

In  Colloquy  the  First,  between  the  Rector  and  the 
Vicar,  the  rector  speaks  in  a  despondent  way  of  the  in- 
attention of  his  people  to  his  preaching,  and  of  its  small 
visible  results ;  to  which  the  vicar  replies  that,  while  labor- 
ing on  in  the  patience  of  hope,  "We  ought  to  ask  ourselves 
whether  there  may  not  be  methods  of  preaching  to  which 
we  have  failed  to  attain ;  methods  scarcely  perhaps  better 
in  themselves,but  better  suited  to  the  days  in  which  we  live." 

In  the  Colloquy  between  the  Lawyer,  the  Doctor,  and 


^Colloquies  on  Preaching.  By  Henry  T wells,  M.  A.,  Honorary 
Canon  of  Peterborongli  Cathedral,  Ptector  of  Waltliam,  Leicester- 
sliire,  and  Rural  Dean.  London  and  New  York:  Longmans,  Green 
and  Company,  1889. 


HOMILETICS— THEORETICAL.  331 

the  Merchant,  the  lawyer  is  made  to  say  that,  "The  m- 
efficiency  of  our  preachers  has  unfortunately  made  them 
a  standing  target  for  ridicule ;"  the  doctor  that,  "Eecent 
church  progress  has  not  affected  preaching  as  one  might 
have  thought  it  would;"  and  the  lawyer  agreeing  with 
him  '^confidently  affirms  that  the.  London  pulpit  has 
considerably  deteriorated  during  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century."  But  the  merchant  is  "not  prepared  to  admit 
the  standard  of  clerical  proficiency  is  below  that  of  other 
professions,"  and  is  "even  inclined  to  think  it  may  be 
above  it."  Yet  he  thinks  that  "Young  men  in  training 
for  holy  orders  should  be  more  practised  in  methods  of 
composition,  clearness  of  articulation,  and  all  the  quali- 
ties which  combine  to  make  preachers." 

In  The  Conclave  at  the  Club,  C.  is  of  the  opinion, 
that  "If  they  (the  parsons)  caught  up  the  events  of  the 
past  week,  and  gave  them  a  sort  of  moral  or  religous  turn, 
they  would  scarcely  have  the  listless  audiences  that  con- 
front them  now."  But  A.  would  have  "the  clergy  use 
their  great  opportunities  to  popularize  science,"  "instead 
of  floundering  in  the  traditions  of  the  past."  D.  would 
have  "the  clergy  preach  morality,"  while  what  E.  "craves 
after  is  to  learn  to  live  and  die  as  a  Christian  man."  He  wants 
"to  hear  the  true  sense  of  the  teaching  of  prophets  and 
apostles,  aye,  and  of  One  greater  than  they,"  and  his 
companions  partly  admit  that  he  is  right. 

In  the  Colloquy  at  the  Clerical  Meeting  in  the  Library 
of  the  Eural  Dean,  F.  (who  seems  to  have  good  homi- 
letical  sense)  is  made  to  say  that  "It  has  become  the 
fashion  of  late  years  to  ridicule  the  old  custom  of  di- 
viding sermons  into  distinctive  heads.  The  result  has 
been   in   many   instances  unfortunate.     A   great  deal  of 


332  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

modern  preaching  is  painfully  discursive.  There  is  an 
utter  absence  of  method  in  its  arrangement,  and  as  a 
consequence,  it  leaves  no  sort  of   impression  behind  it.'^ 

As  to  the  proper  length  of  sermons,  the  Dean  thinks 
that  "The  most  common  length  for  ordinar}^  occasions 
seems  to  have  settled  down  into  twenty  minutes,  and 
perhaps  that,  on  an  average,  is  free  from  objection." 
But  what  can  be  done  in  twenty  minutes  to  treat  prop- 
erly many  themes  that  should  be  discussed  in  the  pulpit  ? 
In  some  churches,  the  elaborate  services  forbid  a  suitable 
treatment  of  well-nigh  any  subject. 

In  the  Colloquy  betw^een  a  Eector  and  his  Son  on  the 
evening  of  his  ordination  as  deacon,  many  things  are  said 
worthy  of  notice.  In  reply  to  his  father's  injunction  to 
preach  what  the  people  need,  rather  than  what  will  please 
them,  the  son  says;  ''Hereby  would  be  swept  aside  a  great 
deal  of  attractive  and  fashionable  oratory.  Many  are  drawn 
to  church  out  of  curiosity  to  see  how  far  clergymen  of  the 
Church  of  England  can  go  in  the  way  of  disparaging 
creeds,  and  proclaiming  a  sort  of  universal  salvation.'^ 
It  is  but  just  to  add  that  such  hearers  and  such  clergymen 
are  not  confined  to  the  Church  of  England.  Then,  too,  the 
father  goes  on  to  say,  the  preacher  must  not  seek  accept- 
able words  by  an  undue  straining  after  novelty.  His  ser- 
mons should  not  resemble  the  leading  articles  of  newspapers, 
nor  should  he  seek  to  make  ,his  words  acceptable  by  any 
artificial  or  exaggerated  method  of  delivery,  but  by  giving 
his  hearers  what  they  most  need.  He  should  exert  to  the 
utmost  such  abilities  as  God  has  given  him,  to  commend ^ 
to  diversify,  and  to  illustrate  the  message  with  which  he 
has  been  entrusted.     And,  then,  he  should  set  before  him- 


IIOMILETICS— THEORETICAL.  333 

self  good  models  and  examples,  above  all  the  Master  him- 
self. He  must  not  be  a  servile  imitator,  but  thor- 
oughly^ natural  in  all  he  says.  His  preaching  must  be 
accompanied  b}^  faith  and  prayer.  Then  his  sermons,  de- 
livered with  or  without  a  manuscript,  will  be  with  power. 

In  the  Colloquy  held  by  the  Bicyclists  in  regard  to  the 
various  kinds  of  preaching  they  had  heard  in  their  tour, 
one  of  them  remarks  that  dissenting  ministers,  being  aware 
what  stress  their  people  lay  upon  preaching,  after  having 
been  specially  trained  for  their  work,  take  much  pains  in 
the  preparation  of  their  discourses,  while  it  is  otherwise 
with  the  church  Clergy.  "  Preaching  is  an  element,  but 
only  an  element,  in  their  responsible  duties.  It  is  seldom 
that  they  are  specially  trained  for  it.  Their  reputation  as 
useful  men  is  not  dependent  upon  it."  Their  sermons,  he 
thinks,  are  ordinarily  too  stilted  and  artificial. 

But  there  are  many  exceptions.  In  the  Colloquy  of  the 
Squire  and  his  Guest,  the  host  says  in  commendation  of 
his  rector,  that  *'He  just  stands  up  and  talks  to  you.  It 
seems  as  simple  and  easy  as  possible,  and  yet  by  and  by 
you  find  your  heart  beating,  and  your  eyes  filling  with 
tears."  Yet,  though  an  able  preacher,  his  modesty  has 
stood  in  the  way  of  his  promotion  in  the  Church. 

At  Lady  Gossip's  Party,  we  have  a  Colloquy  well  worth 
reading,  in  which  views  are  expressed  that  are  more  preva- 
lent in  certain  circles  than  is  generally  imagined.  This 
from  the  Hon.  Mrs.  S.  is  worth  quoting.  "  Have  you  ever 
heard  Mr.  Filchurch?  I  make  a  point  of  hearing  him 
whenever  he  preaches  in  town,  though  it  is  always  difficult 
to  get  a  seat.  He  has  a  most  powerful  delivery.  His 
words  come  out  whirling,  tumbling,  seething,  hissing,  till 


384  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

you  are  regularly  carried  away  with  them,  and  don't  know 
in  the  least  where  you  are.  It  is  impossible  to  remember 
what  he  said  afterwards,  but  that  is  of  little  consequence, 
because  he  has  been  so  eloquent.  They  say  that  he  always 
faints  awa}^  in  the  vestry,  and  that  his  temples  have  to  be 
covered  with  brown  paper,  dipped  in  brandy."  It  is  to  be 
feared  that  quite  a  number  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Filchurch's 
ministerial  brothers  have  migrated  to  the  United  States. 

Colloquy  the  Seventeenth,  entitled  The  Detectives,  is 
carried  on  by  two  gentlemen  and  a  lady  in  a  railway  car- 
riage. A.  has  again  caught  his  rector  pilfering,  delivering 
a  sermon  of  John  Henry  Newman's,  and  says  that,  from 
considerable  knowledge  of  facts,  he  has  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  we  can  seldom  be  sure  of  a  preacher's  sermon 
being  his  own.  "  The  clergy- preach  to  us  layjnen  the  ob- 
vious d..ties  of  honesty  and  straightforwardness;  yet  they 
stand  up  in  the  pulpit,  and  seek  to  gain  credit  from  v.'hat 
has" really  come  from  the  brains  of  other  people." 

But  B.  interposes  that  young  clergymen,  wdien  they 
have  much  preaching  to  do,  are  not  unfrequently  recom- 
mended by  their  Bishops  to  adopt  the  practice  of  writing 
one  original  sermon  a  week  and  borrowing  the  other ! 
Then,  replies  A.,  why  not  let  the  information  that  they  are 
preaching  another  man's  sermon  be  publicly  given "?  A.  is 
right.  How  a  man  wdio  professes  to  preach  the  gospel  of 
truth,  and  to  be  an  ambassador  of  Him  who  is  Truth  itself, 
can  stand  up  before  a  congregation  and  preach  as  his  own 
a  pilfered  sermon,  passes  comprehension.  If  a  minister 
is  reduced  to  the  pitiful  necessity  of  being  obliged  to  use 
another  man's  sermon,  let  him  stand  up  like  a  man  and 
say  that  the  sermon  is  not  his  own,  and  give  due  acknowl- 


H03IILETICS— THEORETICAL.  335 

eclgment  to  its  author.  This  is  the  only  course  at  once 
upright  and  safe. 

In  the  last  Colloqu}^  between  the  Bishop  and  the  Arch- 
deacon, they  both  agree  that,  "While  the  average  stand- 
ard of  preaching  has  decidedly  improved,  the  habit  of 
hearing  has  most  emphatically  deteriorated."  This  change 
they  in  part  account  for  by  the  fact  that  the  sermon,  which 
half  a  century  ago  was  regarded  as  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant feature  in  church-going,  has  been,  as  the  result  of 
the  Anglo-Catholic  revival,  dislodged  from  its  former  po- 
sition, and  placed  below  worship  and  the  sacraments.  The 
marvelous  development  of  the  public  press,  and  the  char- 
acter of  popular  literature,  are  regarded  as  hostile  to 
preaching.  Yet  the  Bishop  believes  that  the  English  pul- 
pit has  a  great  future  before  it.  He  thinks  that  there  may 
be  methods  of  proclaiming  and  enforcing  the  gospel  of 
Christ  specially  called  for  by  the  age  in  which  we  live ; 
that  the.  younger  clergy  should  search  out  these  methods, 
should  pray  for  greater  love  of  souls,  should  be  close  stu- 
dents of  the  Bible,  and  should  cultivate  such  a  style  and 
delivery  as  will  give  greatest  effect  to  their  discourses. 
The  Bishop  (who  doubtless  represents  the  views  of  the 
author)  closes  with  the  expression  of  the  wish  that  he 
*' may  yet  live  to  see  the  beginning,  though  not  t*lie  devel- 
opment, of  a  material  alteration  in  the  efficiency  and  influ- 
ence of  ths  pulpit.  The  nation  calls  for  it.  The  Church 
requires  it.  It  cannot  be  longer  delayed  without  danger 
to  both." 

The  volume  is  entertaining  in  parts,  and,  as  a  whole, 
quite  suggestive  and  instructive. 


336  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY, 

HISTORY    OF    PREACHING.^ 

To  one  who  would  become  in  the  pulpit  "  a  workman 
that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed,"  the  study  of  the  history 
of  preaching  is  next  in  importance  to  the  study  of  the  art 
of  preaching.  The  Eev.  Dr.  Ker  has  therefore  done  good 
service,  not  only  to  young  men  in  preparation  for  the  pul- 
pit*, but  also  to  the  ministry  at  large  in  his  Lectures  on  the 
History  of  Preaching,  delivered  to  students  in  the  Theologi- 
cal Hall  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland. 

Of  the  twenty-one  lectures,  included  in  this  large  octavo 
volume,  the  first  seven  have  to  do  with  the  general  history 
of  the  Pulpit  before  the  Pieformation,  while  the  remaining 
lectures  are  confined  wholly  to  the  history  of  the  Ger- 
man Protestant  Pulpit,  the  lamented  author  having  left 
his  work  unfinished. 

In  his  first  lecture  Dr.  Ker  treats  of  the  advantages  of 
the  study  of  the  history  of  preaching,  one  of  which  is  that 
the  advance  of  preaching  gives  ground  of  encouragement 
that  the  pulpit  will  attain  to  still  greater  power.  He  holds 
"that,  as  a  whole,  the  pulpit  has  brought  home  more  of 
Christian  truth  to  the  circumstances  and  wants  of  men, 
during  the  last  fifty  years,  than  in  any  half  century  since 
the  beginning  of  Christianity."  He  thinks  that  "All  great 
revivals,  all  true  advances  in  the  Church,  have  come  from 
the  simple,  earnest  preaching  of  the  gospel  of  Christ." 

He  closes  his  lecture  on  the  Ancestry  of  Preaching  in 


^Lectures  on  the  History  of  Preaching.  By  the  late  Kev,  John 
Ker,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Practical  Training  in  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church.  Edited  by  Kev.  A.  E.  Macewen,  M.A.,  Balliol,  B.D., 
Glasgow.  Introduction  by  Ptev.  Wm.  M.  Taylor,  D.D.,  LLD.  New 
York:  A.  C.  Armstrong  and  Son,  1889. 


IIOMILE  TICS—  THEORETICA  L.  337 

the  Old  Testament  with  the  thought  that,  "If  there  be  any 
power  under  God  to  save  the  workl,  it  is  a  living  church 
with  faithful  ministers  who  shall  fearlessl}^  witness  for  the 
living  God." 

In  his  lecture  on  The  Earliest  Christian  Preaching,  he 
shows  that  we  should  not  expect  to  fmd  the  New  Testa- 
ment preaching  in  shape  and  form  like  that  which  prevails 
among  us,  since  sermon-material  is  there  given  in  the  ore, 
and  left  to  successive  generations  to  put  into  all  the  shapes 
needed  for  the  wants  of  men.  Yet  we  may  learn  much 
from  Christ's  preaching — its  great  simplicity,  variety, 
sympathy,  faithfulness,  and  adaptation.  All  the  preaching 
of  the  Apostles  centered  on  Christ,  and  aimed  at  the  salva- 
tion of  men. 

Then  followed  the  hortatory  and  inferior  preaching  of 
the  Apostolic  Fathers,  soon  to  be  succeeded  by  a  period  of 
great  pulpit  power,  with  such  men  of  might  as  Origen, 
Basil,  and  Chrysostom,  in  the  Eastern  Church,  and  Jerome, 
Ambrose,  and  Augustine,  in  the  Western.  The  sermon, 
though  often  faulty  in  exegesis  and  discursive  in  thought, 
was  full  of  vigor,  addressed  to  the  conscience,  and  adapted 
to  the  age. 

In  his  two  lectures  on  Oriental  Church  Preaching,  the 
author,  after  noticing  the  marked  change  in  the  intellectual 
and  rhetorical  character  of  the  preaching  of  the  Eastern 
Church,  resulting  from  various  causes,  treats  at  length  of 
the  characteristics  of  the  preaching  of  Origen  and  Chrysos- 
tom, the  representatives  respectively  of  the  schools  of  Alex- 
andria and  Antioch.  The  main  defect  of  the  preaching  of 
both  these  schools,  was  a  w^ant  of  naturalness.  Then 
came  the  decline    of  preaching   in  the  Eastern    Church, 


338  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

caused  by  bitter  polemic  strife,  dogmatism,  ecclesiasticism, 
and  failure  of  the  missionary  spirit. 

In  his  lecture  on  Western  Church  Preaching,  Dr.  Ker, 
after  giving  several  reasons  for  the  slower  development  of 
the  power  of  the  pulpit  in  the  West,  describes  the  character- 
istics of  the  great  preachers,  Cyprian,  Ambrose,  and  Au- 
gustine. 

Of  the  great  preachers  in  the  Western  Church  during 
the  Middle  Ages, —  from  the  death  of  Augustine  to  the  Ee- 
formation, —  the  author  names  Leo  the  Great,  Gregory  the 
Great,  and  Bede,  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  period,  and,  in 
the  last  half,  Thomas  Aquinas,  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  John 
Tauler,  Berthold  of  Eatisbon,  John  Wycliife,  John  Huss, 
and  Savonarola.  The  lowest  period  in  preaching  was  from 
800  to  1200  A.  D. 

In  his  lecture  on  the  History  of  German  Preaching 
from  the  Eeformation,  Dr.  Ker  puts  Luther  in  the  forefront 
of  the  long  line  of  eminent  German  preachers,  and  analy- 
zes the  elements  of  his  power.  His  great  aim  was  to 
preach  the  great  saving  truths  of  the  Bible,  and  to  preach 
them  clearly  and  simply.  '-He  had  one  overmastering 
thought,  and  that  thought  was  Christ." 

Then  followed  a  period  of  decline  in  preaching,  caused 
in  part  by  national  and  political  disquiet,  doctrinal  disputes, 
and  dogmatism,  which  decline  Philipp  Jacob  Spener,  "  the 
reformer  of  the  life  of  the  German  church,"  wrought 
mightily  to  arrest. 

Although  he  was  partially  successful,  his  work  developed 
"  the  Pietistic  School,  and  led  to  a  wide  and  deep  reaction 
from  which  Germany  is  only  now  emerging."  Of  this 
school,  Francke  of  Halle  was  a  distinguished  representa- 


HOMILETICS— THEORETICAL.  ^  839 

live.  Incessant  in  his  pastoral,  university,  and  orphan 
house  work,  he  did  much  to  promote  spiritual  life  in  the 
people,  and  spiritual  power  in  the  pulpit. 

But  sad  days  for  the  German  Church  and  preaching 
followed,  in  the  recoil  from  fervid  pietism  to  the  opposite 
extreme  of  rationalism,  which  Bengel  and  Zinzendorf  did 
much  to  counteract. 

The  author  devotes  a  lecture  to  the  Preaching  of  Illu- 
minism,  of  which  the  historian  Mosheim,  Johann  J.  Spald- 
ing, Georg  J.  Zollikofer,  and  Franz  V.  Eeinhard,  were 
eminent  representatives.  Their  preaching  w^as  much  the 
same  as  the  ethical  preaching  of  the  "Moderates"  of 
Scotland,  whose  best  representative  was  Dr.  Hugh  Blair. 

Yet  underneath  this  prevailing  Illuminism,  there  was, 
here  and  there,  the  hidden  life  of  faith,  which  welcomed, 
as  the  dawn  of  a  better  day,  such  preaching  as  that  of 
Schleiermacher,  which,  wath  all  its  defects,  '*  taught  men 
that  there  is  something  more  in  religion  and  the  Bible  and 
Christ  than  the  easily  understood  commonplaces  which  Illu- 
minism declared  to  be  the  wdiole." 

Then  came  the  "  Mediating  School,"  trying  to  recon- 
cile religion  and  science,  faith  and  reason,  whose  represen- 
tative preachers  were  Karl  Immanuel  Nitzsch  and  Frieder- 
ich  Augustus  Tholuck.  Nitzsch's  views  of  preaching, 
given  in  his  Practical  Theology,  and  quoted  by  Dr.  Ker,  are 
worth  remembering.  "  In  every  sermon,  the  preacher 
should  consider:  (1)  The  aim;  an  aim  wdiich  can  be 
briefly  stated,  and  which  must  be  kept  in  view  through- 
out ;  (2)  the  collection  of  material  bearing  on  this,  which 
is  to  be  found  principally  in  the  Bible  and  in  the  heart ; 
(3)  the    arrangement   or  division  of   the  material,   which 


340  PRACTICAL    TIIEOLOGV. 

should  be  simple  and  yet  comprehensive ;  (4)  the  carrying 
out  of  the  plan  under  each  division,  and  in  this  the  main 
aim  should  always  be  keep  in  view;  (5)  the  language;  and 
(6)  the  action." 

The  language  of  preaching,  he  thinks,  should  be  largely 
that  of  the  Bible,  and  the  sermon  should  be  delivered 
without  use  of  manuscript. 

Tholuck,  famous  as  a  linguist  and  exegete,  was  prob- 
ably the  best  preacher  of  his  time  in  Germany.  His  ser- 
mons, evangelical,  full  of  feeling,  and  teeming  with  illus- 
trations, took  captive  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  The  author 
well  cites  Tholuck's  ideal  of  a  sermon.  ''  A  true  sermon  has 
the  heaven  for  its  father  and  the  earth  for  its  mother. 
Why  is  it  that  so  much  of  our  preaching  goes  coldly  over 
the  head  and  heart?  Because  earthly  affairs  are  treated 
only  in  the  light  of  this  world.  They  have  the  earth  for 
their  mother,  but  not  the  heaven  for  their  father.  And 
why  do  other  sermons  go  over  the  head  and  heart  alto- 
gether? Because,  though  heavenly  things  are  dealt  with, 
they  are  not  carried  into  the  streets,  the  homes,  the  w^ork- 
shops  of  the  earth.  They  have  the  heaven  for  their  father, 
but  not  the  earth  for  their  mother.'' 

In  the  great  variety  of  religious  life  and  preaching  in 
Germany,  Dr.  Ker  regards  Ludwig  Hofacker  and  Glaus 
Harms  as  continuing  the  "  Unbroken  Testimony  "  of  the 
doctrine  of  Luther  and  Spener  to  our  time. 

The  preaching  of  Hofacker,  though  he  died  at  the  age 
of  thirty,  produced  a  marvelous  effect.  Although  destitute 
of  the  arts  of  oratory,  it  was  impassioned,  earnest,  sympa- 
thetic and  direct. 

Harms  was  a  powerful  preacher.     He  set   forth   the 


HOMILETICS— THEORETICAL.  341 

central  themes  of  the  Bible  with  deep  conviction  of  their 
truth,  and  in  a  simple  and  direct  manner.  He  held  that 
the  lirst  requisite  of  a  preacher  is  a  right  spirit — a  deep, 
holy  earnestness ;  that  the  Bible  should  furnish  the  chief 
material  for  preaching ;  that  the  language  of  the  sermon 
should  be  that  used  by  the  people — simple  and  natural — 
and  that  the  delivery  should  be  without  notes,  natural 
and  easy. 

Kudolf  Stier  and  Friedrich  Wilhelm  Krummacher 
the  author  terms  pre-eminently  "Biblical  Preachers." 
Stier  maintains  ''that  the  Bible  is  the  living  fountain  of  all 
Christian  teaching,  and  that  wide,  deep  acquaintance 
with  it  is  the  first  qualification  for  preaching."  The  pulpit 
should  keep  close  to  the  thought  and  to  the  language 
of  the  Bible. 

The  preaching  of  Krummacher, — the  Guthrie  of  Ger- 
many,— was  largely  illustrative,  and  in  manner  highly 
dramatic.  His  "sermons  are  like  a  gallery  of  paintings. 
Every  truth  is  thrown  into  a  figure."  His  method  is 
thus  described  by  the  author.  "The  introduction  is  gener- 
ally short  and  vivid,  leading  right  up  to  the  text;  the 
divisions  are  briefly  expressed  and  memorable,  while  the 
close  is  also  brief  and  telling,  the  application  being  given 
throughout  the  discourse."  He  would  have  the  preacher 
use  three  books — the  Bible,  his  own  heart,  and  the  people. 

In  the  lecture  on  Piecent  and  Present  German  Preach- 
ing, Dr.  Ker,  after  noticing  the  influence  of  Kant  and 
Hegel  on  German  thought  and  preaching,  describes  such 
representative  preachers  of  the  different  religious  bodies 
and.  schools  as,  Franz  Theremin,  Karl  Schwarz,  Ludwig 
Harms,   Rudolph  Kogel,  Julius  MuUer,  Karl  von  Gerok, 


342  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Johann  T.  Beck,  Lutharclt,  Steinmeyer,  and  Uhlliorn. 
Present  German  preaching  is  delineated  as  striving  after 
more  simplicity  and  clearness,  without  becoming  less  in- 
structive ;  varjang  in  form  between  the  textual  and  the 
topical  methods,  according  to  the  mental  structure  of  the 
preacher ;  and  becoming  more   Scriptural  and  evangelical. 

In  the  closing  lecture  on  Lessons  for  Our  Preaching, 
the  author,  after  giving  a  resume  of  his  lectures,  gathers 
from  them  several  lessons  for  his  pupils,  which  he  sums 
up  in  his  closing  paragraph.  "Let  us,  then,  preach  salva- 
tion by  faith,  and  regeneration  through  the  Holy-  Spirit ; 
let  us  seek  to  search  the  depths  of  the  soul  with  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ;  let  us  bring  all  God's  truth  to  bear  on 
the  life  of  men  in  plain,  practical  speech ;  and  we  shall 
be  workmen  that  need  not  be  ashamed." 

These  lectures  of  Dr.  Ker  on  the  History  of  Preaching  are 
able,  discriminative,  instructive,  and  worthy  of  careful 
reading  by  young  ministers. 


This  volume  contains  fifty-five  plans  of  sermons,  and 
two  discourses  delivered  on  important  occasions.  These 
plans,  given  quite  fully,  have  been  taken  from  sermons 
preached  by  Dr.  McConnell,  and  now  offered  to  others  for 
use.  In  the  preface  we  are  told,  "The  author  can  claim 
for  these  outlines  of  sermons  but  a  single  valuable  quality, 
— they  have  stood  the  experimentum  crucis.  They  have 
been  used,  and  have  been  found  to  be  sufficiently  coherent 


^Sermon  Stuff.    By  S.  D.  McConnell,  D.D.,  Rector  of  St.  Stephen's 
Clmrcli,  Philadelphia.    New  York:  Thomas  Whittaker,  J 889. 


HOMILETICS—  THEORETICA  L.  343 

to  be  intelligible.  All  proprietary  right  in  them  is  hereby 
renounced.  If  anyone  can  find  in  them  either  material  or 
arrangement  to  serve  his  purpose,  they  are  his." 

Now,  though  this  is  very  generous  of  the  author,  yet  we 
cannot  but  think  that  the  long-suffering  congregations 
whose  preachers  resort  for  aid  to  these  skeletons  of  sermons, 
have  some  rights  which  their  pastors  are  bound  to  re- 
spect. These  churches  have  called  these  ministers  to  be- 
come their  pastors,  and  have  taken  upon  themselves  their 
support,  that  they  may  give  themselves  wholly  to  the 
study  of  the  Divine  Word,  and  to  the  preaching  of  it  out  of 
their  own  heart's  experience,  and  they  have  a  right  not  only 
to  all  that  is  best  in  their  pastors,  but  also  tiiat  they 
should  at  least  be  so  far  honest  as  not  to  palm  off  upon 
them  other  men's  plans  of  sermons  as  their  own.  If 
such  ministers  have  not  mind  enough  to  make  a  decent 
outline  of  a  sermon,  or  are  so  pressed  for  time  that  they 
cannot  make  one,  then  let  them  stand  up  before  their 
congregations  like  men,  and  state  frankly  that  they  have 
taken  the  outline  of  their  sermon  from  another.  If  they 
take  any  other  course,  they  will  in  due  time  almost  cer- 
tainly come  to  grief,  and  besides  dwarfing  themselves  intel- 
lectually and  spiritually,  will  lose,  if  not  the  respect  of 
their  congregations,  the  respect  of  themselves. 

These  outlines  of  sermons  have  considerable  variety  in 
form.  Few  of  them  can  be  said  to  have  strict  unity  of 
thought.  They  rarely  develop  a  proposition,  but  oftener 
consist  of  remarks  on  the  general  subject  of  the  discourse. 

From  these  plans  we  gather  that  their  author  does 
not  regard  probation  as  limited  to  the  present  life  (pp. 
9,  10,  80,) ;   and  that  he  thinks    "the  theological  device  of 


844  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

the  Fall  unscriptural  and  unsatisfactory.  The  transac- 
tion called  by  that  name  was  clearly  an  advance  upon 
what  preceded."  (P.  136.) 

The  two  discourses  (Baccalaureate  Sermon  and  Con- 
vention Sermon)  with  which  the  volume  closes,  are  able 
and  practical. 


CHAPTER    II. 

PRACTICAL   HOMILETICS— SERMONS. 
QUESTIONS    OF    THE    AGES.^ 

In  this  little  volume  of  a  hundred  and  thirty  pages,  the 
Rev.  Moses  Smith  has,  in  nine  discourses,  attempted  to 
answer  the  following  questions  :  What  is  The  Almighty  ? 
What  is  Man?  What  is  The  Trinity?  Which  is  The  Great 
Commandment?  What  is  Faith?  Is  there  Common  Sense 
in  Religion?  Is  there  a  Larger  Ho:  e?  Is  Life  Worth  Liv- 
ing? What  Mean  These  Stones  ? 

These  questions  the  author  discusses  with  ability  and 
candor.  He  brings  to  the  discussion  a  keen  intellect,  judi- 
cial impartiality,  good  sense,  a  happy  way  of  setting  forth 
the  truth,  and  a  vigorous  style.  He  condenses  much 
thought  into  few  words.  He  makes  the  great  doc- 
trines of  w^hich  he  treats  appear  reasonable.  Perhaps,  in 
his  efforts  in  this  direction,  he  may  at  times  go  too  far.  It 
is  a  little  perilous  to  attempt  to  illustrate  the  mystery  of 
the  Trinity  in  the  Godhead  by  a  reference  to  man  in  his 
various  relations. 

One  of  the  best  sermons  in  the  volume  is  that  on, 
"  Who  is  my  Neighbor?  or.  Life  Worth  Living?"  It  is 
very  suggestive  in  thought,  and  vivid  in  style. 

The  book  Avill  well  repay  reading. 


'Questions  of  the  Ages.   By  Rev.  Moses  Smith.  Cliicago:  New  York 
Fleming  H.  Re  veil. 


346  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

ON    BEHALF    OF    BELIEF.^ 


Of  the  twelve  sermons  contained  in  this  vohime  by 
Canon  Holland,  the  first  four, — Concerning  the  Eesnrrec- 
tion, — the  author  modestly  says,  "  may  possibly  suggest 
to  some  the  coherence  of  the  entire  (Apostles')  Creed  which 
knits  its  ideal  and  its  historical  elements  together  into  a 
unity  so  close  and  compact  that  it  is  impossible  to  effect  a 
severance — impossible  to  separate,  by  any  analysis,  kernel 
from  husk,  where  each  element  is  kernel  and  husk  by 
turns." 

These  four  discourses  are  upon,  Criticism  and  the  Res- 
urrection; The  Critical  Dilemma;  The  Gospel  Witness; 
and  The  Elemental  Enigmas.  We  know  not  where  else 
can  be  found  within  so  small  a  compass  as  popular,  in- 
structive, and  convincing  a  treatment  of  the  great  facts  and 
truths  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  as  is  contained  in  these 
four  discourses.  That  on  The  Gospel  Witness, — ''Whereof 
we  are  all  loitnesses,'" — is  especially  excellent. 

In  the  four  sermons  which  follow, — Concerning  the 
Church," — on  Corporate  Faith,  The  Pattern  in  the  Mount, 
Our  Citizenship,  The  Building  of  the  Spirit,  the  author 
sets  forth  "  that  necessary  and  vital  correspondence  be- 
tween faith  and  the  Church  which  is  universally  assumed 
in  apostolical  writings."  In  the  first  sermon  he  shows  that 
faith  and  a  church  are  correlative  and  not  antithetical 
terms,  and  that  they  imply  and  involve  one  another.  He 
affirms  "  that  all  genuine  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  holds  within 


^ On  Behalf  of  Belief .  Sermons  preached  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
Concerning  the  Eesnrrection — Concerning  the  Church— Concerning 
Human  Nature.  B^^  the  Rev.  H.  S.  Holland,  M.  A.,  Canon  and  Pre- 
centor of  St.  Paul's.  New  York:  Thomas  Whittaker,  1889. 


Jin  MILE  TICS— PEA  CTICAL.  347 

it  the  secret,  the  germ  of  the  Church;  its  inner  construc- 
tion anticipates  a  Church ;  its  t^^pe,  its  form,  its  charac- 
ter, prepare  it  fpr  insertion  into  a  society,  a  body,  a  sys- 
tem, an  order.  Deprived  of  this,  it  must  miss  something 
of  its  perfect  development ;  it  cannot  be  attaining  to  all 
its  proper  fruit.  Something  is  lost ;  something  lies  dormant 
and  unused.  There  are  gifts  in  it  which  are  not  exercised, 
and  possibilities  whichjemain  unfulfilled."  This  thought 
is,  we  think,  finely  put,  but  it  is  questionable  whether 
*'  The  type,  the  form,  the  mechanism,  the  framework  of  the 
body  of  Christ,"  into  which  he  hopes  all  Christians  will  be 
finally  gathered,  will  correspond  to  his  conception. 

The  subject  of  the  second  sermon, — The  Pattern  in  the 
Mount, — is  found,  the  author  thinks,  "in  three  or  four 
metaphors,  invariably  occurring  throughout  the  Apostolic 
writings,  which  most  certainly  convey  the  mind  of  the  Lord 
about  His  Church,  as  His  Apostles  understood  it."  "They 
are  the  figures  of  the  household,  the  family,  the  body,  the 
temple,"  each  of  which  topics  he  develops  in  this  and  the 
following  sermon  in  a  very  interesting  and  instructive 
manner. 

In  the  last  four  discourses, — Concerning  Human  Na- 
ture,— the  author,  in  discussing  the  themes.  Made  under 
the  Law,  The  Divine  Sanction  to  Natural  Law,  The  Word 
was  made  Flesh,  The  Nature  of  the  Flesh,  "endeavors  to 
justify  and  interpret  that  loyalty  to  natural  facts  which, 
far  from  being  traversed,  is  rather  sanctioned  and  con- 
firmed by  belief  in  a  Kisen  Master,  and  in  His  Eedemp- 
tive  Church."  His  endeavor  seems  to  us  successful.  The 
last  sermon,  on  The  Nature  of  the  Flesh,  appears  to  us 
very  able  and  worthy  of  careful  reading.  Indeed,  the  vol- 
ume, as  a  whole,  is  very  suggestive  and  instructive. 


348  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

THE  HOUSE    AND    ITS    BUILDER.^ 

The  Keverend  Samuel  Cox,  D.  D.,  has  given  m  this  vol- 
lime  the  last  ten  sermons  that  he  preached  near  the  close 
of  a  pastorate  extending  over  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
They  are  mostly  expository,  and  have  those  excellent  char- 
acteristics of  thought  and  expression  for  which  Dr.  Cox,  as 
an  expositor,  is  justly  celehrated. 

The  first  seven  of  these  discourses — on  The  House  and 
its  Builder ;  The  Origin  of  Evil ;  A  Working  Hypothesis  ; 
The  Groans  of  Nature ;  The  Groans  of  Humanity ;  The 
Groans  of  the  Spirit ;  Inferences  and  Uses ;  Mercy  and 
Justice, — are,  the  author  says,  "addressed  to  those  who 
have  been  infected  by  the  doubts  which  are  in  the  very  air 
of  the  time,  doubts  which  every  thoughtful  mind  is,  sooner 
or  later,  compelled  to  face."  These  seven  sermons,  with 
the  exception  of  the  first,  are  a  series  of  able  exposi- 
tions of  the  difficult  passage,    Komans  viii,  18-27. 

In  the  sermon  on  The  Origin  of  Evil,  the  author  favors 
the  hypothesis  "that  moral  evil  is,  at  least,  an  inevitable 
risk,  perhaps  an  inevitable  accident,  in  the' creation  of  such 
a  world  as  this;"  that  if  man  is  made  with  freedom  of  will, 
he  may  abuse  that  freedom  and  sin.  That  he  did  so. 
Scripture  affirms.  And  the  Apostle.  Paul  "asserts  that  the 
moral  fall  of  man  had  physical  consequences  or  concomi- 
tants ;  that  by,  or  for,  his  sin,  the  whole  creation  was  re- 
duced, against  its  will,  into  that  bondage  to  imperfection 
and  corruption  in  which  we  find  it;  that  in  this  bondage  it 


^The  House  and  its  Builder,  with  other  Discourses:  A  Book  for  the 
Doubtful.  By  Samuel  Cox,  D.  D.  New  York:  Thomas  Wliittaker, 
1889. 


HOMILETICS— PRACTICAL.  349 

labours  and  groans,  longing  for  deliverance,  struggling  up 
toward  a  freedom  and  a  perfection  which  it  never  quite 
attains ;  but  that  it  solaces  itself  under  the  miseries  of  its 
bondage  by  cherishing  an  indomitable  hope  of  rising  into 
the  freedom  and  perfection  for  which  it  3'earns,  when  the 
redemption  of  man  from  his  bondage  shall  be  complete." 

In  his  instructive  discourse  on  The  Groans  of  Nature, 
Eomans  viii.  19-22,  Dr.  Cox,  after  showing  that  Nature 
is,  according  to  the  Apostle,  in  bondage  to  vanity  and  cor- 
ruption, and  that  Science  affirms  the  same,  inquires  how 
it  comes  to  pass  that  in  a  world  made  b}^  the  perfect  God 
all  things  bear  some  mark  of  imperfection ;  that  in  a  world 
made, and  ruled  by  the  living  God,  all  things  die.  The 
answer,  he  thinks,  is  suggested  by  the  Apostle :  '^Vof  hy  its 
own  ivill,  hut  liy  reason  of  him  ivho  subjected  it.^'  The  crea- 
tures were  not  made  for  this  bondage,  or  they  would  not 
strive  and  groan  under  it.  The  living  perfect  God  did  not 
intend  this  bondage  when  He  made  them ;  or,  at  least, 
this  is  not  the  end  for  which  they  are  and  were  created. 
They  have  been  forced  into  it,  but  not  by  Him  ;  and  they 
submit  to  it  with  an  utterable  reluctance,  an  intolerable 
shame."  The  author,  it  will  be  noticed,  makes  man,  and 
not  God,  the  one  who  thus  subjects  nature  and  brings  it 
into  bondage.  In  this  view,^he  is  at  variance  with  such  au- 
thorities as  Meyer  and  Alford. 

In  the  sermon  on  Mercy  and  Justice,  James  ii.  13, 
"Mercy  glorieth  against  judgment,"  the  author,  in  accor- 
dance with  his  theory  of  "The  Larger  Hope,"  takes  the 
position  that  the  purpose  of  God  in  inflicting  punishment 
is,  and  always  will  be,  to  induce  penitence  and  a  better 
mind.     "If  God  is  forever  the  same,  if  He  is  to  be  true   to 


350  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Himself,  if  He  is  not  to  sink  below  the  level  of  his  own 
commandments,  He  who  Himself  found  out  the  remedy  for 
all  the  sin  and  all  the  sorrow  of  the  world,  must  make  that 
remedy  effectual,  and  restore  all  his  erring  and  infected 
children  to  an  eternal  health  and  an  eternal  home."  But 
how  will  this  be  brought  about  if  some  men  will  persist  in 
sin  forever? 

THE    PASTORAL    EPISTLES.^ 

Under  this  title  the  Eev.  Dr.  Alfred  Plummerhas  given  to 
the  press  an  octavo  volume  of  four  hundred  and  thirty  pages, 
containing  thirty-seven  expository  chapters  or  discourses, 
(for  such  he  twice  terms  them),  on  the  Epistles  to  Timoth}^ 
and  Titus. 

In  these  expository  discourses,  the  author  takes  up  in 
their  order  the  more  important  portions  of  these  Epistles, 
and  expounds  them  in  a  learned  and  thorough  manner. 
He  aims  rather  at  a  full  discussion  of  the  topics  treated, 
than  at  their  practical  application.  Yet  his  expositions 
take  more  the  form  of  discourse  than  commentary. 
They  are  at  once  instructive  and  interesting,  and  show 
their  author  to  be  a  ripe  scholar  and  able  theologian. 

In  his  twenty-fourth  discourses  on  Titus,  iii,  4-7,  the 
author  stoutly  maintains  that  the  phrase  "through  the 
washing  of  regeneration  "means  "the  Christian  rite  of 
baptism,  in  which,  and  by  means  of  which  the  regeneration 
takes  place."  He  adds :  "We  are  fully  justified  by  his 
(the   Apostle's)    language  here  in    asserting  that  it  is  hy 


1  The  Pastoral  Epistles.  B3-  the  Rev.  Alfred  Pliimmer,  M.A.,  D.D., 
Master  of  University  College,  Dnrliam;  formerl^^  Fellow  and  Senior 
Tutor  of  Trinity  College,  Oxford.  New  York:  A.  C.  Armstrong  and 
Son,  1889. 


HOMILETICS—PRACTICA  L,  851 

means  of  the  baptismal  washing  that  the  regeneration 
takes  place ;  for  he  asserts  that  God  '  saved  us  tliroiufh  the 
washing  of  regeneration.'  The  laver  or  bath  of  regenera- 
tion is  the  instrument  or  means  by  which  God  saved  us." 

In  his  expositor}'  discourse  on  II  Tim.  i,  15-18,  Dr. 
Plummer,  in  expounding  the  parenthetical  sentence,  ''(the 
Lord  grant  unto  him  (Onesiphorus)  to  find  merely  of  the 
Lord  in  that  day),"  concludes  "  that,  according  to  the  more 
probable  and  reasonable  view,  the  passage  before  us  con- 
tains a  prayer  offered  up  by  the  Apostle  on  behalf  of  one 
who  is  dead,"  and  that  *'  we  seem  to  have  obtained  his 
sanction,  and  therefore  the  sanction  of  Scripture,  for  using 
similar  prayers  oursehves."  But  he  cautions  us  that  we 
must  use  similar  prayers,  and  adds  :  ''On  what  grounds 
can  we  accept  the  obligation  of  praying  for  the  spiritual 
advancement  of  those  who  are  with  us  in  the  flesh,  and 
yet  refuse  to  help  by  our  prayers  the  spiritual  advance- 
ment of  those  who  have  joined  that  '  great  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses '  in  the  unseen  world,  by  which  we  are  perpetually 
encompassed  (Heb.  xii,  1)?  The  very  fact  that  they  wit- 
ness our  prayers  for  them  may  be  to  them  an  increase  of 
strength  and  joy."  We  cannot  but  think  that  the  author 
is  here  treading  upon  uncertain    and    dangerous  ground. 

Throughout  these  expository  lectures,  the  author 
shows  great  candor  and  catholicity  of  spirit,  united  with 
varied  scholarship. 


352  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

THE  IMMANENT  GOD  AND  OTHER  SERMONS.^ 

This  little  volume  comprises  eight  discourses  on  The 
Immanent  God  ;  The  Unsearcable  God  ;  The  Manifest  God  ; 
Law,  Providence  and  Prayer;  Satan  or  the  Genius  of 
Trial ;  Self-Abnegation  ;  The  Way  where  the  Light  Dwelleth ; 
and  the  Heart's  Plea  for  Immortality  Accepted. 

They  are  rather  essays  than  sermons.  The  author 
discusses  subjects  in  a  very  interesting  manner.  His 
style  is  delightful.  His  spirit  is  admirable.  But  we  can- 
not quite  agree  with  him  in  some  of  his  views. 

In  his  sermon  on  The  Immanent  God,  he  represents  his 
own  childish  conception  of  God  as  essentially  that  formed 
by  many  modern  theologians  and  Christians.  "Calvin's 
arguments  and  Edwards'  sermons  and  Moody's  exhorta- 
tions imply  it.  The  theology  that  has  ruled  Christendom 
for  fifteen  centuries  is  builded  on  the  conception  of  an  'ab- 
sentee God,'  a  God  outside  of,  detached  from,  far  away 
from  his  world.  Formed  in  another  age,  and  thence  handed 
on,  cherished  by  scholars  and  thinkers  as  brave  as  have 
ever  lived,  there  it  is,  the  haunting,  the  prevailing  thought." 
Now,  of  all  men,  President  Edwards  is  the  last  against 
whom  such  a  charge  can  justly  be  made.  His  writings 
abound  in  sentiments  just  the  opposite.  For  example,  in 
writmg  of  his  own  experience  soon  after  his  conversion,  he 
says:  "The  appearance  of  everything  was  altered ;  there 
seemed  to  be,  as  it  were,  a  calm,  sweet  cast  or  appearance 
of  divine  glory,  in  almost  everything.  God's  excellency, 
his  wisdom,   his    purity   and    love,    seemed  to   appear  in 


^The  Immanent  God  and  other  Sermons.     By  Abraham  W.  Jackson. 
Boston  and  New  York.     Houghton,  Mifflin  and  Comi^any.    1889. 


HOMILETICS—PRA  OTIC  A  L.  :}5:^ 

everything:  in  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars;  in  the  clouds 
and  bhie  sky ;  in  the  grass,  flowers,  and  trees  ;  in  the  water, 
and  all  nature;  which  used  greatly  to  fix  my  niind.  I 
often  used  to  sit  and  view  the  moon  for  continuance ;  and 
in  the  day  spent  much  time  in  viewing  the  clouds  and  sky, 
to  behold  the  sweet  glory  of  God  in  these  things ;  in  the 
meantime,  singing  forth,  with  a  low  voice,  my  contempla- 
tions of  the  Creator  and  Redeemer. "  Also  in  his  History 
of  the  Work  of  Redemption,  President  Edw^ards  thus  re- 
views, near  the  close,  the  course  of  the  events  that  he  has 
been  tracing:  ''We  began  at  the  head  of  the  stream  of 
divine  Providence,  and  have  follow^ed  and  traced  it  through 
its  various  windings  and  turnings,  till  we  are  come  to  the 
end  of  it,  and  we  see  where  it  issues.  As  it  began  in  God, 
so  it  ends  in  God.  God  is  the  infinite  ocean  into  which  it 
empties  itself." 

In  his  sermon  on  Law,  Providence,  and  Prayer,  the 
author  takes  the  position  that  only  prayer  "for  the  things 
of  soul "  will  be  answered,  that  it  is  fooUsh  to  imagine 
that  "things  of  body" — that  any  so-called  laws  of  nature, 
will  be  suspended,  or  in  any  way  modified  by  pra^^er.  But 
may  not  the  Author  of  natural  laws  have  so  constituted 
them  at  the  first,  that  they  shall  work  out,  throughout  all 
time,  the  answers  to  such  petitions  as  He,  foreseeing  that 
they  would  be  offered,  should  think  it  best  to  grant  ? 

In  his  discourse  on  Satan,  or  The  Genius  of  Trial,  the 
author  avows  his  belief  that  Satan  as  a  person  has  no  ex- 
istence. He  is  simply  trial  personified.  "He  seems  to 
be  a  Persian  conception,  and  was  adopted  into  Jewish 
thought,  perhaps  in  the  time  of  the  captivity.  The  early 
Christian  writers,  conspicuously  John  in  the  Apocalypse, 


354  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY, 

without  stopping  to  discriminate  his  real  character,  foisted 
the  attrihutes  of  devil  upon  him,  and  sent  him  down  the 
ages  the  personalized  principle  of  moral  evil.  These 
attributed  are  now  stripped  off,  and  we  are  com- 
pelled in  honesty  to  give  Satan  a  better  name,  if  not  a 
more  sympathetic  fellowship.  If  we  cannot  love  him  more, 
we  at  least  should  speali  him  fairer."  '' In  the  tempta- 
tion of  Jesus  there  was  really  no  Devil,  only  the  Satan 
of  trial  applying  his  tests  to  Jesus.  Conscious  of  great 
powers,  he  has  retired  to  the  desert  to  meditate  on  the  use 
to  which  he  will  devote  them."  And  the  author  goes  on 
to  add,  "Now  that  there  was  ever  such  a  being  as  Satan, 
I  suppose  few  to-day  believe.  And  the  reason  why  we  have 
ceased  to  believe  in  him  is,  that  we  have  left  behind  the 
habit  of  personalizing  principles  which  we  find  always  with 
man  in  the  early  stages  of  his  development."  How  the 
author  can  reconcile  these  views  with  the  express  teachings 
of  the  New  Testament  on  this  subject,  and  especially  of 
Him  who  is  "the  truth,"  is  beyond  our  comprehension. 

The  last  sermon  in  the  volume.  The  Heart's  Plea  for 
Immortality,  we  regard  as  the  ablest. 

We  cannot  but  think  it  a  defect  in  these  sermons,  that 
they  have  so  small  a  spiritual  element  in  them. 

THE    LAW    OF    LIBERTY.^ 

The  twelve  discourses  of  this  volume  which  Dr.  Whiton 
has  given  to  the  public,  are  upon  The  Law  of  Liberty  ; 
Solomon  ;    Helping    God  ;   Spiritual  Barbarism  ;  The  Mys- 


^The  Law   of  Liberty   and    Other  Discourses.     By  James   Morris 
Whiton,  Ph.  D.    New  York,  Thomas  Whittaker,  1889. 


HOMILETK  \S— PRACTICAL.  356. 

tery  of  Evil ;  The  Assurance  of  Immortality ;  The  Trans- 
figuration ;  Is  Deception  ever  a  Duty  ?  The  Trinity ;  Ba- 
laam ;  The  Advent  of  the  Christ ;  The  World's  •  Balance- 
Wheel. 

These  subjects  are  discussed  with  great  freshness  of 
thought  and  illustration,  and  in  an  attractive  manner. 
The  author's  varied  and  exact  scholarship  appears  through- 
out these  sermons.  They  are  very  suggestive  and  instruct- 
ive. The  style  is  excellent,  and  the  plans  of  the  discourses 
are,  in  general,  good.  But  if,  in  some  of  the  sermons,  the 
subjects  and  the  main  heads  had  beBn  given  greater  con- 
ciseness and  prominence,  we  cannot  but  think  that  it 
would  have  given  the  hearers  more  easy  possession  of  the 
thought. 

The  last  discourse  on  The  World's  Balance-Wheel,  from 
the  text  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  is,  in 
matter  and  form,  one  of  the  ablest  in  the  volume. 

Some  of  the  positions  of  the  author  seem  to  us  hardly 
tenable.  His  view  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  is 
such  as  to  be  consistent  with  error  as  to  causes  and  ideas. 
For  example,  "The  historian  (of  the  Books  of  the  Kings) 
records  not  only  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  Hebrew  monarchy, 
but  also  what  appeared  to  him  to  be  the  cause  of  its  decline. 
This  he  found  in  a  decay  of  orthodoxy  by  the  intrusion  of 
heathen  modes  of  worship.  He  traces  the  evil  back  to  Sol- 
omon, and  attributes  the  great  rebellion,  which  divided  the 
kingdom  in  his  son's  time,  to  the  anger  of  God  at  the 
allowance  which  Solomon  had  granted  to  the  idolatrous 
worship  of  his  foreign  wives.  A  closer  study  of  the  his- 
tory gives  us  a  different  view  of  the  matter,  and  a 
different    idea    of   what  Solomon's    apostasy    was."       In 


356  PRACTICAL    TUEOLOGY. 

the  discourse  on  The  Tranfiguration,  in  advocating 
an  immediate  resurrection  after  death,  he  says:  "The 
Jewish  behef  was  of  a  remoter  resurrection,  at  some 
worki's  end,  as  Martha  thought.  Traces  of  this  old  way 
of  thinking  colour  some  of  Paul's  sayings."  So  also  the 
author  believes  that,  "  with  this  fact  of  an  accomplished 
resurrection  goes  the  corresponding  fact  of  an  accom- 
plished judgment." 

In  his  sermon  on  The  Trinity,  the  author  regards  the 
three  designations,  "■  The  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  as  in  no  respect  representing  "  three  Persons"  in 
the  Deity,  but  simply  the  result  of  "a  progressive  revelation 
of  God,  of  which  the  names  given  to  Him  at  successive 
periods  mark  the  successive  advances,  till  the  revelation  is 
completed  by  Christ  in  his  announcement  of  the  Triune 
Name  of  ^tlie  Father,  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.''' 
So  in  a  foot  note  on  page  185,  we  read  :  "  In  the  Scriptural 
term  'only  begotten,'  as  applied  to  Jesus,  we  cannot  take 
*only'  to  mean  exclusively,  without  contradicting  the  Scrip- 
tural truth  which  Paul  discovered  in  a  Greek  poet,  '  We 
also  are  His  offspring.'  Not  exclusiveness,  but  pre-emi- 
nence is  meant  here  by  'only.' "  And  yet  the  author  says  : 
"Let  none  of  us  imagine  that  anything  essential  has  been 
left  out  of  our  account,  because  the  usual  phraseology 
about  'Three  Persons'  has  been  discarded."  "The  thing 
is  here,  all  that  Jesus  taught  us,  '  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,'  the  Three  personal  agencies  of  God,  not  three 
individual  agents — the  Three  personal  activities  of  God, 
not  three  individual  actors." 

In  the  able  discourse  on  Balaam  :  The  Moral  Cross-Eye, 
Dr.    Whiton  takes  what   appears  to  be  stated  as  simple 


nOMILETICS— PRACTICAL.  357 

facts,  in  a  highly  figurative  sense.  The  voice  of  God  to 
him  is  simpl}^  the  voice  of  conscience,  and  he  says :  "We 
must  regard  Balaam's  conduct  as  evincing  nothing  more 
in  the  action  of  his  beast  than  a  brute  nature  m  terror  is 
capable  of.  So  the  dumb  creatures  often  speak  to  us  by 
looks  and  cries,  inarticulately,  but  eloquently  and  intel- 
ligibly. 

But  though  we  dissent  from  such  views  as  have  been 
named,  we  regard  these  discourses  as,  in  the  main,  very 
suggestive  and  helpful. 


In  this  volume  of  ten  expository  discourses  on  the 
fifteenth  chapter  of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the 
Eev.  Dr.  Eeuen  Thomas  sets  forth  his  views  of  the  Apostle's 
teaching  in  that  remarkable  portion  of  Scripture.  "My 
great  aim,"  says  the  author,  "was  to  present  and  enforce 
what  to  me  was  manifestl}^  Paul's  teaching  in  the  great 
Resurrection  chapter.  *  *  *  All  I  have  aimed  at  is 
to  'give  the  sense'  of  St.  Paul  in  a  way  suited  to  the 
necessities  and  competencies  of  a  listening  Christian 
assembly." 

This  we  think  he  has  well  done.  Taking  up  in  suc- 
cession the  parts  of  the  chapter  which  he  is  to  expound,  he 
sets  forth  with  clearness  and  force  the  Apostle's  thought, 
often  felicitously  blendhig  with  the  exposition  practical 
suggestions.     Thus  in  his  second  discourse,  which  he  terms 


^Though  Death  to  Life  :  Diacourees  on  St.  Paul's  Great  Resurrec- 
tion Chapter.  By  Reuen  Thomas,  D.  D.,  Boston:  Silver,  Burdett 
and  Co. 


358  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

''Personal,"  in  which  the  Apostle  gives  an  account  of  his 
own  life  and  experience,  the  author  says,  ''I  think  that 
there  is  a  needful  suggestion  here  for  ourselves  in  these 
modern  days.  Often  and  often,  with  great  want  of  wis- 
dom (so  it  seems  to  some  of  us),  have  men  been  set  to 
public  preaching  to  others  immediately  after,  in  some  re- 
vival meetings,  their  emotions  have  been  stirred  and 
confession  of  Christ  as  their  Lord  been  publicly  made. 
And  the  more  of  badness  there  has  been  in  the  previous  life, 
the  more  notorious  the  men  have  been,  the  more  needful  it 
has  seemed  by  their  advisers  that  their  case  should  be  made 
public.  In  the  light  of  the  retirement  into  Arabia  of 
the  great  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  I  am  compelled  to  make 
confession  of  my  belief  that  such  sudden  precipitancy 
of  an  untried  man  upon  the  public  is  all  wrong.  If  any 
such  men  have  gifts  which  can  be  utilized,  let 
them,  ere  using  those  gifts,  go  into  some  Arabia  for  three 
years  and  get  to  know  themselves.  Unless  a  man's  con- 
viction is  able  to  go  into  retirement  for  three  years  and 
grow,  it  is  not  of  much  account." 

In  some  of  his  expositions  as,  for  example,  in  the  dis- 
course on  Baptism  for  the  Dead,  the  author  is  at  vari- 
ance with  such  high  authorities  as  Meyer  and  Alford,  yet 
he  always  presents  his  view  with  frankness  and  modesty. 

These  discourses,  though  generally  informal,  follow 
closely  the  course  of  the  Apostle's  thought,  and  are 
good  examples  of  expository  preaching.  The  last  discourse 
on  Certain  Eeward,  is  a  fine  example  of  textual  ser- 
mon. 

The  style  of  Dr.  Thomas  is  simple,  clear,  forcible,  and 
well  adapted  to  the   pulpit.       Very  infrequently  are  found 


HOMILETICS—PRA  CTICAL.  359 

such  expressions    as    ''Firstly,"    and    "His    body  was  not 
grossly  material  like  our  bodies  are  now,"  that  mar  his  style. 
The  volume  will  abundantly  repay  reading. 

THE  THRESHOLD  OF  MANHOOD.^ 

This  is  one  of  the  best  of  the  many  volumes  of  sermons 
addressed  to  young  men,  that  we  have  read.  The  au- 
thor, himself  a  young  man,  is  in  heartiest  sympathy  with 
young  men,  and  his  ministry  of  five  years  in  London 
brought  him  into  "special  contact"  wath  them,  and  thus 
made  him  able  to  speak  to  them  with  a  somewhat  full 
"knowledge  of  the  temptations,  struggles,  and  needs  of 
city  youth." 

The  fourteen  sermons  contained  in  the  volume  are 
on  Decision ;  A  Young  Man's  Dfficulties ;  Impulse 
and  Opportunity;  The  Testnnony  of  Fact;  What  it  is 
that  Endures  ;  Purity ;  The  Sin  of  Esau  ;  Sins  of  Silence  ; 
The  Character  of  Judas ;  Job  on  Pessimism ;  Nathan 
and  David ;  The  Impotence  of  Eevolt  against  the  Truth ; 
The  Fatherhood  of  God;  The  Use  of  Mystery.  These 
subjects  the  author  treats  in  a  fresh  and  interesting  way. 
He  deals  faithfully  and  plainly  with  young  men,  and  does 
not  shrink  from  applying  the  truth  to  their  needs.  Yet 
he  shows  that  he  is]  in  fullest  sympathy  with  them  in 
the  temptations  and  struggles  through  which  they  are 
passing. 


^The  Threshold  of  Manhood.  A  Young  Stan's  Words  to  Young 
Men.  By  W,  J.  Dawson,  antlior  of  "A  Vision  of  Souls:  with  other 
Ballads  and  Poems,"  "Quest  and  Vision:  Essays  in  Life  and 
Literature,"  etc.    New  York:  A.  C.  Armstrong  and  Son,  1889. 


360  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

His  style  is  attractive.  He  abounds  in  pertinent  illus- 
trations. He  has  the  imagination  of  a  poet,  and  uses  it 
often  with  fine  effect. 

The  plans  of  these  discourses  are  largely  textual,  and 
some  of  them  are  very  good.  In  some  cases,  the  plans  are 
not  sufficiently  distinct  and  terse. 

In  the  sermon  on  The  Sin  of  Esau,  the  author  takes 
the  phrase,  *'he  found  no  place  of  repentance,"  to  mean 
"  no  way  to  change  his  (Esau's)  mind."  *'His  desire 
changed,  but  his  environment  was  fixed ;  he  changed  his 
mind  in  one  sense  of  the  phrase,  but  he  could  not  change 
his  condition."  In  this  view,  though  he  is  in  accord  with 
such  modern  authorities  as  Delitzsch  and  Alford,  he  is  at 
variance  with  Meyer,  who  maintains  that  the  passage 
means,  **Esaudid  not  succeed  in  causing  his  father  Isaac 
to  change  his  mind,  so  that  the  latter  should  recall  the  bless- 
ing erroneously  bestowed  upon  the  younger  brother  Jacob, 
and  confer  it  upon  himself  the  elder  son  ;  in  this  he  succeed- 
ed not,  though  he  sought  it  with  tears."  He  insists  that 
this  interpretation  "is  most  naturally  suggested  by  the  con- 
text itself,  yields  a  clear,  correct  thought,  and  best  accords 
with  the  narrative  in  Genesis." 

The  sermons  in  this  volume,  which  we  have  read  with 
greatest  interest,  are  those  on  Decision;  A  Young 
Man's  Difficulties  ;  The  Testimony  of  Fact ;  What  it  is  that 
Endures  ;  The  Character  of  Judas  ;  Nathan  and  David ;  and 
The  Impotence  of  Kevolt  against  the  Truth.  Indeed,  there 
is  not  one  of  these  discourses  the  reading  of  which  again 
and  again  would  not  be  a  great  benefit  to  a  young  man. 
We  hope  that  the  book  will  find  its  way  into  the  hands  of 
many  a  youth. 


HOMILETICS— PRACTICAL.  361 


In  this  volume  of  twenty-live  chapters  or  sermons — for 
such  they  seem  to  be, — the  Eev.  Dr.  J.  Oswald  Dykes  has 
given  fine  examples  of  expository  discourse.  The  author 
goes  through  the  first  eight  chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  taking  up  consecutive  portions  of  it,  and  aiming 
"to  make  clear  in  popular  language  the  precise  connection 
of  the  x\postle's  thought.**  This  he  has  admirably  done. 
Having  evidently  studied  in  the  most  careful  and  thorough 
manner  the  Apostle's  great  argument,  and  brought  himself 
into  closest  sympathy  with  the  spirit  and  aim  of  the  wri- 
ter, he  sets  forth  the  Apostle's  wonderful  sweep  of  thought 
and  cogency  of  argument  with  great  clearness  and  power. 

In  this  respect  these  discourses  are  worthy  to  stand 
beside  Dr.  Chalmers'  Lectures  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
while  they  are  superior  to  them  in  general  form  and  style. 
No  one,  we  are  sure,  can  read  these  expository  discourses 
on  the  most  profound  and  difficult  epistle  of  the  Apostle 
Paul,  without  being  both  instructed  and  charmed  by  the 
clear  setting  forth  of  the  thought,  and  the  attractiveness  of 
the  style. 

As  an  example  of  the  author's  style,  take  the  following 
on  Christians  being  "Joint-heirs  with  Christ."  "The  won- 
der is  that  a  hope  so  magnificent  does  not  dazzle  earthly 
eyes.  For  plain  people,  full  of  faults,  who  in  this  strutting 
world  of  little  men  count  for  nothing,  to  be  gravely  assured 
that  their  destiny  is  to  be  associated  within  a  year  or  two 


1  The  Gospel  According  to  St.  Paul.  Studies  in  the  first  eight 
chapters  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  By  the  Rev.  J.  Oswald 
Dykes,  M.A.,  D.D.    New  York:  Robert  Carter  and  Brothers,  1888. 


362  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

with  the  present  condition  of  the  Eternal  Son  of  God,  is  a 
prospect  the  unearthly  brilliance  of  which  might  well  ravish 
any  of  us  so  as  to  leave  scarce  interest  enough  for  present 
affairs.  One  might  suppose  that  such  a  future,  if  a  man 
believed  in  it,  must  dwarf  into  utter  nothingness  the  ambi- 
tions and  losses  of  this  world,  reconcile  his  patience  to  any 
calamity,  and  elevate  his  mind  quite  above  the  petty  rival- 
ries and  turmoils  that  vex  the  days  of  common  men.  Let 
a  clear  soul,  sure  of  its  celestial  parentage,  only  fasten  its 
vision  on  the  inheritance  which  within  so  brief  a  space  is  to 
be  its  own,  and  fill  itself  full  with  the  idea  of  that  ap- 
proaching elevation,  with  its  sacre'd  delights,  its  superhu- 
man companionships,  its  passionless  repose,  its  stainless 
purity,  its  ceaseless  and  saintly  occupations  :  surely  such  a 
soul  may  be  expected  at  least  to  draw  into  itself  some- 
thing serene  and  godlike,  a  little  of  the  peace  and  more  than 
a  little  of  the  sanctity  of  heaven!" 

It  is  a  good  omen  for  the  pulpit  that  expository  preach- 
ing seems  to  be  coming  into  increasing  favor  with  the  peo- 
ple, and  such  discourses  as  those  contained  in  this  volume 
of  Dr.  D3^kes,  must  aid  not  a  little  in  making  expository 
preaching  popular. 

Paul's  ideal  church  and  people.^ 

Into  this  volume  of  less  than  three  hundred  pages,  the 
learned  author  has  condensed  a  brief  commentary  on  the 


^PaiiVs  Ideal  Church  and  People.  A  Popular  Commentary.  With 
a  Series  of  Forty  Sermonettes  on  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy.  By 
Alfred  Rowland,  LL.B..  B.A.  (London  University).  New  York:  E.  B. 
Treat,  1888. 


H03nLETICS—PRA  CTICA  L.  368 

First  Epistle  to  Timotliy,  followed  by  ''  Forty  Sermou- 
ettes,"  consisting  of  a  series  of  popular  expositions  of  the 
Epistle  in  the  order  of  the  text. 

The  *' Expository  Notes"  occupy  the  first  thirty  pages 
of  the  work,  and  are  scholarly  and  helpful.  The  ''  Ser- 
monettes  "  so-called,  (a  word  which  we  think  should  have 
no  place  in  good  English),  though  so  short  that  they  could 
each  be  delivered,  on  an  average,  in  fifteen  minutes,  yet 
are  packed  with  excellent  and  suggestive  thoughts.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  find  elsewhere  so  many  practical 
thoughts  and  suggestions  in  as  short  sermons. 

The  author  has  the  happy  faculty  of  setting  forth  in  a 
vivid,  interesting,  and  instructive  manner,  the  course  of 
the  thought  in  the  passage  expounded. 

Several  of  the  plans  in  these  expository  discourses  are 
admirable,  and  are  worthy  of  close  study  by  young  minis- 
ters. Take,  for  example,  the  text  1  Tim.  i.  15, — ''This  is 
a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners,  of  whom  I  am 
chief,"  which  he  terms  The  Gospel  in  a  Sentence,  and 
which  he  treats  textually  thus :  I.  The  Mission  of  the 
Son  of  God  is  here  set  forth — He  "  came  into  the  world." 
11.  The  Purpose  of  His  Mission  could  not  be  set  forth 
more  clearly  and  concisely  than  in  the  words.  He  came 
*'  to  save  sinners."  IH.  The  Exemplification  of  this 
Purpose,  given  by  Paul,  is  drawn  from  his  own  experience. 
He  says,  respecting  himself,  of  sinners  "  I  am  chief." 
Conclusion. — The  truth  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners,  is  "worthy  of  all  acceptation."  ''It 
is  a  faithful  saying." 

In  the  expository  sermon  on  1  Tim.  v.  17-22,  entitled 


364  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Duties  Towards  the  Ministry,  the  following  are  the  chief 
heads:  I.  Its  Faithfulness  should  be  Honored. — "Let 
the  elders  that  rule  well  be  counted  worthy  of  double 
honour."  II.  Its  Reputation  should  be  Cherished. — 
''  Against  an  elder  receive  not  an  accusation,  except  at  the 
mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses."  III.  Its  Aspirants 
SHOULD  be  Approved. — ''Lay  hands  suddenly  or  hastily  on 
no  man." 

In  the  sermon  on  The  Christian  Contest,  from  1  Tim. 
vi.  12,  "Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  lay  hold  on  eternal 
life,  whereunto  thou  art  also  called,  and  hast  professed  a 
good  profession  before  many  witnesses,"  the  author  gives 
the  following  plan:  "This  exhortation  rfeminds  us — 
I.  That  the  Christian  Life  is  a  Contest.  II.  That  the 
Christian  Life  begins  with  a  Call.  III.  That  the  Chris- 
tian Life  demands  Confession.  IV.  That  the  Christian 
Life  receives  its  Crown." 

The  style  is  simple,  clear,  direct,  and  well  adapted  to 
expository  discourse. 

We  commend  to  young  ministers  this  volume  as  a  val- 
uable aid  in  acquiring  skill  in  expository  preaching. 

-SERMONS    BY    ARCHDEACON    FARRAR.^ 

This  volume  (Contemporary  Pulpit  Library)  contains 
eighteen  discourses  recently  delivered  by  the  eminent 
Archdeacon  of  Westminster  on  such  practical  themes  as, 
Christian  Responsibility;  How  to   Deal  with  Social  Dis- 


^Sermons.  By  the  Ven.  F.  W.  Farrar,  D.D.,  F.R.S.,  Archdeacon  of 
Westminster.  New  York:  Thomas  Whittaker.  London:  Swan, 
Sonnenschein  and  Company.  1889. 


HOMILETICS—PRA  CTICAL.  365 

tress ;  The  Kegeneration  of  the  World ;  The  Signs  of  the 
Times ;  The  Church  and  Her  Work ;  Doers  of  the  Word ; 
London  Life  ;  Hosea's  Message ;  and  Keligion  and  Keligion- 
ism. 

These  sermons  shov/  Archdeacon  Farrar  to  be  a  very 
practical  and  close  preacher.  Few  Puritan  divines  ever 
pressed  home  the  truth  more  faithfully  upon  the  heart  and 
the  conscience.  Although  loyal  to  the  Church  of  England,  he 
cares  not  for  mere  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  avows  him- 
self in  hearty  sympathy  with  all  who,  in  whatever  commun- 
ion, show  the  Christian  spirit. 

In  these  sermons  he  dwells  much  on  the  practical  duties 
of  life  and  on  social  problems,  especially  those  of  London 
life.  In  all  these  great  social  questions  he  is  intensely  in- 
terested, and,  relying  mainly  upon  the  Gospel  for  their  so- 
lution, he  urges  his  hearers  to  carry  its  blessings  down 
among  the  wretched  masses  of  the  great  metropolis. 

These  sermons  disclose  the  ripe  scholarship  and  wide 
reading  of  their  author.  They  abound  in  illustrations. 
The  style,  though  somewhat  diffuse,  is  attractive. 

The  plans  of  these  discourses  are  not,  in  general,  equal 
to  the  material.  The  sermons  that  we  have  read  with 
most  interest  are  those  on  How  to  Deal  with  Social  Dis- 
tress ;  The  Sinlessness  of  Christ ;  The  Might  of  the  Spirit ; 
London  Life ;  and  Christianity  Triumphant. 

It  is  no  small  commendation  of  the  sermons  in  this 
volume ,  to  say  that  they  are  worthy  of  their  distinguished 
author. 


866  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

SEKMONS    BY    CANON    LIDDON.^ 

Canon  Liddon,  as  is  well  known,  has  long  been  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  ablest  preachers  of  the  Church  of 
England.  In  varied  scholarship,  in  profound  and  suggest- 
ive thought,  and  in  felicitous  diction,  he  has  few  if  any  su- 
periors in  the  English  Pulpit.  In  these  two  latest  volumes 
irom  his  pen,  he  has  permitted  a  large  number  of  readers 
to  enjoy  the  discourses  which  instructed  and  delighted  the 
large  audiences  that  are  wont  to  gather  Sunday  afternoons 
at  St.  Paul's. 

In  the  first  volume  of  fifteen  sermons,  the  preacher 
treats  of  such  themes  as,  The  Disobedient  Prophet ;  Adora- 
tion; The  Premature  Judgments  of  Men;  The  Beginning 
and  the  End;  The  Place  where  the  Lord  Lay;  Holding  by 
the  Feet;  The  Pharisee  and  the  Publican;  Stewardship; 
Foreign  Missions;  The  Incarnation,  and  The  Dignity  of 
-Service. 

The  second  volume  contains  fourteen  discourses  on 
such  subjects  as,  The  Obligations  of  Human  Brotherhood  ; 
Death  and  its  Conquest ;  The  Knowledge  of  the  Universal 
Judge ;  God's  Justice  and  the  Cross ;  The  Christian  War- 
rier ;  Human  History  and  its  Lessons ;  Christ's  Demands, 
and  four  sermons  on  The  Magnificat. 

In  the  discourses  of  both  these  volumes  Canon  Liddon 
is  at  his  best,  and  gives  us  the  ripest  results  of  his  scholar- 
ship and  thinking.     We  are  impressed  by  his  wide  reading, 

^Sermons.  By  H.  P.  Liddon,  D.D.,  D.G.L.,  Canon  of  St.  Paul's. 
First  Series  (Contemporary  Pulpit  Library).  London:  Swan, 
Sonnenschein  and  Co.,  1888. 

Sermons.  By  the  same  author.  Second  Series  (Contemporary 
Pulpit  Library).    New  York:  Thomas  Whittaker,  1890, 


IIOMTLETICS— PRACTICAL.  367 

exact  and  varied  scholarship,  profound  knowledge  and  in- 
sight of  Scripture  and  skill  in  setting  forth  its  meaning. 
His  expositions  are  often  remarkable.  His  illustrations, 
though  not  numerous,  are  choice  and  vivid.  His  develop- 
ment of  his  subjects  is  quite  full  and  ver}^  suggestive.  He 
is  alwaj's  fresh  and  instructive,  whatever  be  his  theme.  As 
he  advances  along  the  pathway  of  his  discourse,  he  often 
gives  to  his  audience  charming  vistas  of  related  truths  on 
either  hand.  In  applying  the  truth  he  is  at  once  faithful 
and  tender. 

We  cannot  but  think  that  not  a  few  of  these  sermons 
are  defective  in  form.  Rarely  do  we  find  a  subject  stated 
clearly  and  concisely.  Although  many  of  the  plans  of  these 
discourses  are  excellent,  few  of  them  have  their  main  heads 
so  clearly  and  tersely  expressed  as  to  give  the  reader  , 
much  less  the  hearer,  ready  command  of  the  course  of  the 
thought.  This  frequent  want  of  a  prominent  and  con- 
cisely worded  subject  and  plan,  we  regard  as  the  chief 
defect  in  these  excellent  discourses. 


Few  prelates  of  the  Established  Church  of  England  are 
as  noted  for  eloquence  in  the  pulpit  as  is  the  Bishop  of 
Peterborough  A  man  of  fine  presence,  able  and  well  dis- 
ciplined intellect,  varied  culture,  affluent  imagination,  for- 
cible style  and  fervid  delivery,  he  is  a  very  attractive  and 
persuasive  preacher.     The  writer  well  remembers  the  deep 


^Sermons.  By  the  Right  Rev.  W.  C.  Magee,  D.D,,  Lord  Bishop  of 
Peterboroiigli.  (The  Contemporary  Pulpit  Library).  New  York: 
Thomas  Whittaker.     London:  Swan,  Sonnenschein  and  Co.,  1888. 


368  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

impression  made  by  the  eloquent  Bishop  in  a  discourse  to 
a  great  audience  in  Westminster  Abbey,  a  score  of  years 
ago.  He  usually  preaches  without  notes,  and  in  a  direct 
and  familiar  style. 

The  volume  before  us  includes  sixteen  discourses,  of 
which  five  are  Sermons  on  the  Creeds;  seven  on  The 
Church's  Catechism,  and  the  remaining  four  on  Abraham's 
Faith;  The  Kinglom  of  Christ;  National  Idolatry,  and 
Jacob's  Wrestling.  These  last  are  occasional  discourses, 
and  are  longer  and  more  elaborate  than  the  others. 

These  sermons,  as  a  whole,  seem  hardly  equal  to  the 
fame  of  their  author.  Most  of  them  were  printed  from 
reporter's  notes,  as  they  were  delivered  to  the  large  con- 
gregations that  gather  Sunday  afternoons  during  Lent  in 
the  Peterborough  Cathedral,  and  they  are  too  brief  to  ad- 
mit of  a  thorough  discussion  of  the  subjects  of  which  they 
treat.  But  the5'  all  have  the  marked  characteristics  of 
Bishop  Magee  as  a  preacher. 

We  cannot  agree  with  some  of  his  views  as  set  forth 
in  his  sermon  on  baptism.  "  Every  baptized  man  is  a 
Christian.  He  is  a  member  of  Christ ;  he  is  a  child  of 
God ;  he  is  an  inheritor  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 
Now,  in  a  very  loose  and  general  sense  of  the  term,  a  bap- 
tized man  may  be  called  a  Christian  by  profession ;  but  in 
the  exact  meaning  of  the  word  as  commonly  understood,  a 
Christian  man  is  a  regenerated  man,  one  whose  heart  is 
right  with  God,  and  whose  supreme  purpose  is  to  do  the 
will  of  God,  and  we  cannot  but  think  that  the  use  of  the 
term  in  the  signification  given  to  it  by  the  author,  even 
though  sustained  by  "The  Church  catechism,"  is  mis- 
leading and  injurious. 


HOMILETICS— PRACTICAL.  369 

The  discourses  on  Abraham's  Faith,  and  National  Idol- 
atry, are  suggestive  and  excellent. 

SERMONS  AND  ADDRESSES.^ 

The  thirty-six  sermons  and  three  addresses  of  Dr 
Manning,  contained  in  this  volume  of  542  pages,  we  have 
read  with  much  interest.  They  were  selected  by  Mrs. 
Manning  from  among  the  many  discourses  left  by  the 
lamented  author,  and  though  differing  considerably  in 
merit,  they  may  be  supposed  fairly  to  represent  the  preach- 
ing of  Dr.  Manning  during  the  quarter  of  a  century  in 
which  he  occupied  the  honored  pulpit  of  the  Old  South 
Church,  Boston.  They  were  published,  we  are  told,  at  the 
earnest  request  of  the  many  friends  and  parishioners  of 
Dr.  Mannmg. 

Although,  as  has  been  said,  these  sermons  are  unequal 
in  ability,  yet  they  are  worthy  of  their  distinguished  author, 
and  manifest  his  earnest  Christian  spirit  as  a  man,  his 
faithfulness  as  a  preacher,  and  his  loving  care  of  his  flock 
as  a  pastor.  They  show  him  to  have  been  a  man  of  good 
parts,  of  fine  intellectual  and  esthetic  culture,  of  affluent 
imagination,  and  of  felicitous  expression.  He  must  have 
been  a  very  manly  man,  with  a  keen  sense  of  justice  and 
right,  true  to  his  convictions,  and  fearless  in  expressing 
them.     He  believed  and  therefore  spoke. 

The  material  of  these  sermons  is  excellent,  and  is 
taken  in  no  small  degree  from  the    Scriptures.     Indeed, 


^Sermons  and  Addresses.  By  Rev.  Jacob  Merrill  Manning,  D.  D., 
Pastor  of  the  Old  South  Church,  Boston,  Mass.  Boston  and  New 
York.     Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Company,  1889. 


370  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

these  discourses  are  thoroughly  Bibical  and  practical. 
They  have  chiefly  to  do  with  the  great  verities  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  apply  them  with  singular  faithfulness  and  tender- 
ness to  the  characters  and  lives  of  the  hearers.  They  disclose 
the  wide  reading  of  their  author,  and  the  ample  store  of 
apt  illustrations  at  his  command.  He  was  a  devoted  student 
of  nature,  and  gathered  thence  not  a  few  of  his  most  per- 
tinent and  beautiful  illustrations  of  the  truth. 

The  plans  of  these  sermons,  taken  as  a  whole,  seem  tons 
to  be  hardly  equal  to  the  material.  While  some  of  the  plans 
are  admirable,  and  clearly,  briefly  and  distinctly  expressed, 
others  appear  to  be  deficient  in  these  respects,  and  do  not 
give  us  easy  possession  of  the  thought.  There  is  a  pleas- 
ing variety  of  construction  in  these  discourses. 

Were  we  to  select  from  this  large  number  of  sermons 
those  that  have  most  impressed  us  in  the  reading,  we 
should  name  those  on  the  following  subjects :  Sons  of 
God  through  Christ ;  The  Structure  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Eomans ;  Conscience ;  The  Beginning  and  End  of  Sin ; 
The  Ideal  Life;  The  Spirit  of  Christ;  The  Story  of 
Naaman,  and  its  Lesson ;  Completed  Lives ;  We  all  do 
Fade  as  a  Leaf;  and  Christian  Missions  and  the  Social 
Ideal — a  sermon  preached  before  the  American  Board. 

The  three  addresses  with  which  the  volume  closes,  on 
Samuel  Adams,  John  Brown,  and  a  Eulogy  upon  Henry 
Wilson,  delivered  in  the  State  House,  Boston,  are  able  and 
discriminating,  and  show  their  author  to  have  been  a  man 
of  great  integrity,  strong  convictions  and  undaunted 
courage. 

We  are  glad  that  these  Sermons  and  Addresses  of  this 
noble  man  have  been  published,   and   believe  that   '*  the 


TIOMILETICS-PRACTICAL.  371 

earnest  hope  that  the  truth  as  presented  in  them  may  find 
a  response  in  many  hearts,  and  thus  prolong  his  influ- 
ence and  memory  in  the  world,"  will  be  fulfilled. 


SIGNS    OF    PROMISE.^ 

In  this  volume  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott  has  given  to  the 
public  eighteen  of  the  sermons  that  he  preached  during  the 
first  two  years  of  his  ministry  in  Plymouth  Church,  in  re- 
sponse to  requests  for  their  publication.  They  were  de- 
livered without  notes,  taken  down  by  a  stenographer,  and 
revised  by  the  author  for  publication. 

In  respect  to  the  topics  and  the  unity  of  these  discourses, 
the  author  says :  ''The  first  two  sermons  are  in  the  na- 
ture of  personal  tributes  to  my  predecessor  in  Plymouth 
Pulpit,  the  greatest  preacher  of  our  age  if  not  of  all  ages ; 
a  man  to  whom  I  owe  the  greatest  debt  one  soul  can  owe 
another — the  debt  of  love  for  spiritual  nurture.  The 
next  two  contend  for  the  right  and  duty  of  pro- 
gress in  religious  thought  and  life,  and  indicate  cer- 
tain laws  which  govern  real  progress,  and  certain  charac- 
teristics which  distinguish  it  from  mere  movement.  The 
next  four  deal  with  some  aspects  of  the  fundamental 
issue  of  our  day,  that  between  Naturalism  and  Kevela- 
tion,  between  religion  that  is  a  human  product  and  religion 
that  is  a  divine  gift  and  growth.  The  next  two  treat  of  the 
Church  of  God,  the  visible  incarnation  and  manifestation 
of  his  gift  to  mankind.     The    remaining  eight  deal  with 


^Signs  of  Promise.  Sermons  preached  in  Plymontli  Pulpit, 
Brooklyn,  1887-89.  By  Lyman  Abbott.  New  York:  Fords,  Howard 
&  Hulbert,  1889. 


372  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

problems  and  experiences  of  the  spiritual  life  in  the  indi- 
vidual soul." 

These  sermons  are  largely  practical.  They  are  the 
farthest  possible  from  doctrinal  or  theological.  Indeed, 
the  author  seems  to  omit  no  opportunity  to  warn  his 
hearers  against  the  evils  of  any  kind  of  systematic  the 
ology.  "It  has  been  assumed"  he  says,  "that  we  can  have 
a  complete  and  perfect  knowledge  of  the  universe.  The 
very  phrase,  "systematic  theology,"  is  a  misleading 
phrase.  Theology — science  of  God.  Systematic  theology 
— systematic  knowledge  of  God.  The  ant-hill  undertaking 
to  measure  the  garden  !"  But  may  not  one  derive  great 
benefit  from  systematizing  whatever  knowledge  of  God  he 
may  obtain  from  the  Divine  Word,  however  imperfect 
such  knowledge  may  be  ?  Do  we  not  take  a  similar  course 
in  Geology,  Biology,  and  all  the  other  sciences  without  for 
a  moment  imagining  that  we  know  all  about  these  subjects  ? 

Throughout  these  discourses  we  see  continual  evi- 
dences of  the  great  influence  which  "the  greatest  preacher 
of  our  age,"  as  the  author  lovingly  estimates  Mr.  Beecher, 
has  had  on  his  thought  and  style.  His  views  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  continued  inspir- 
ation of  Christians,  of  the  theory  of  evolution,  and  of  "the 
silence  (of  the  finally  impenitent)  in  an  eternal  grave  from 
which  there  is  no  resurrection,"  are,  as  nearly  as  we 
can  gather  from  these  discourses,  very  similar  to  those 
of  his  late  pastor  and  leader.  But  his  views,  against  some 
of  which,  as  we  read,  we  find  ourselves  protesting,  are  set 
forth  in  a  loving  and  catholic  spirit. 

Some  of  the  author's  exegesis  we  must  think  a  little 
faulty.      For  example,    in    his    sermon  on    Salvation    by 


HOMILKTK  \S—PliA  ( 'TICAL.  373 

Growth,  from  the  text,  Ephesians  ii,  3,  "We  were  by  na- 
ture the  children  of  wrath,  even  as  others,"  we  are  tohl 
that  the  phrase,  "children  of  wrath,"  means  simply  that 
"We  have  come  out  of  wrath;  it  is  the  birth,  the  very  cra- 
dle, as  it  were,  in  which  our  childhood  was  rocked."  "We 
are  children  of  our  own  appetites,  of  our  own  natures." 
Thus  the  phrase  does  not  assert  the  Divine  displeasure. 
In  this  view  the  author  is  at  variance  with  such  high  au- 
thorities as  Meyers,  Ellicott,  and  Alford. 

While  in  the  case  of  those  who  finally  reject  God's 
mercy  in  Christ,  the  author  can  "see  naught  but  death," 
yet  he  repudiates  the  doctrine  of  endless  sin  and  conscious 
suffering,  as  shown  in  the  closing  sentences  of  the  last  ser- 
mon of  the  volume.  "When  at  last  mercy  has  achieved 
its  end,  when  they  who  have  resisted  its  every  influence 
unto  death  are  silent  in  an  eternal  grave,  from  which  there 
is  no  resurrection,  then  in  the  song  which  shall  go  up  from 
the  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  from  every  creature 
in  the  heavens  above  and  on  the  earth  beneath  and  in  the 
w^aters  under  the  earth,  there  will  be  no  discordant  note, 
no  spiritual  dissonance,  no  sullen  silence ;  there  will  be  no 
remote  and  far-off  corner  of  the  universe  where,  behind 
locked  doors,  the  groans  of  an  endless  misery  and  the 
wrath  of  an  endless  sin  shall  prove  that  the  devil  has  w^on 
a  victory  in  some  small  corner  of  God's  dominions ;  but 
God  shall  be  all  and  in  all,  and  life  shall  reign,  and  death 
shall  be  put  forever  under  feet.  When  that  hour  comes, 
will  your  voice  be  hushed  and  silent  in  eternal  death  ?  0,' 
may  it  rather  join  in  the  new  song,  'Worthy  is  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain,  to  receive  glory,  and  honor,  and  power,  and 
riches,  for  ever  and  ever!'" 


374  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Dr.  Abbott  has  made  the  plans  of  most  of  these  sermons 
clear  and  promment.  They  give  easy  possession  of  his 
thought.  His  style  is  simple,  vigorous,  and  often  beauti- 
ful. He  abounds  in  pertinent  and  forcible  illustrations. 
He  does  not  weary  his  hearers  or  readers.  He  has  the 
enviable  art  of  saying  just  what  he  wants  to  say  in  a  terse, 
clear,  forcible,  and  natural  manner,  and  without  the  aid  of 
a  manuscript. 

We  are  especially  pleased  with  the  sermons  on  Grapes 
of  Gall ;  The  Eeligion  of  Humanity ;  The  Dogmatism  of 
Paul;  Christ's  Law  of  Love;  and  The  Peace  of  God. 


PRACTICAL   THEOLOGY. 


PAET   II. 


PRESENT  STATE 

OF 

STUDIES   IN    PASTOEAL    THEOLOGY 

BY 

EEV.  G.  B.  WILLCOX, 

Professor  of  Pastoral  Theology  akd  Special  Studies 

IN 

Chicago  Theological  Seminary. 


THE   CALL    TO    THE    MINISTRY. 

Prof.  Win.  M.  Paxton,  of  Princeton,  in  The  Presbyterian 
Review  for  January  1889,  opposes  strongly  the  view  that 
"men  are  called  to  the  ministry  in  the  same  way  in  which 
they  are  called  to  he  Farmers,  Merchants,  Lawyers  or 
Physicians."  He  insists  on  a  mystical  intimation  of  the 
Divine  Will,  in  some  sense,  though  he  does  not  tell  us  in 
what  that  differs  from  the  evidence  that  a  Christian  phy- 
sician may  expect,  that  he  is  the  line  of  God's  direction. 
His  argument  from  the  Scriptuies  is  not  convincing.  His 
instances  from  the  appointments  of  prophets  and  apostles 
are  irrelevant  to  the  case  of  an  ordinary  pastor.  And  the 
few  instances  in  which  disciples  of  Christ  are  mentioned  as 
called  to  the  work  of  teaching  or  preaching,  are  easily  par- 
alleled by  language  equally  strong,  in  the  call  of  others  to 
other  vocations.  When  he  comes  to  the  evidences  of  such 
a  Divine  intimation  as  he  requires,  he  finds  them  chiefly 
in  such  physical,  intellectual  and  spiritual  gifts  as,  under 
the  view  he  opposes,  would  be  requisite.  Under  either 
view  no  one  would  be  justifted  in  entering  this  office  without 
earnest  prayer  for  the  Divine  direction  and  profound  be- 
hef  that  he  had  found  the  leading  of  the  hand  of  God.  The 
notion  of  a  specially  distinct  call  from  on  high  to  the  min- 
istry, as  a  specially  sacred  and  exalted  work,  is  full  of  the 
danger  of  spiritual  assumption  and  pride,  with  which,  in 
every  age,  the  clergy  have  been  beset.     It  would  seem  to 


378  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

have  been  a  constant  aim  with  the  Divine  Master  to  reduce 
the  distinction  between  sacred  and  secular  things  ;  and 
that,  not  by  leveHng  down  the  former  but  by  levehng  up 
the  latter.  He  would  have  had  all  days  consecrated,  all 
places  holy,  all  callings  sacred.  It  is  dangerous  to  inti- 
mate to  a  layman  that  his  vocation  lies  less  near  to  God 
than  that  of  his  pastor.  Most  laymen  have  already  too 
much  of  that  perilous  notion. 


FORMING    A    MINISTER  S    LIBRARY. 

On  this  important  matter  Prof.  J.  0.  Murray,  of  Prince- 
ton College,  discourses  in  The  Homiletic  Review  for  Jan- 
uary, 1890.  We  incorporate  some  of  his  suggestions  with 
others  of  our  own. 

First,  then,  purchase  deliberately.  Be  not  driven  to 
rashness  by  any  alarm-cry  that  the  book  will  be  sold  out 
of  the  market.  Neither  conclude,  simply  from  a  great 
name  as  the  author,  as  to  the  value  of  the  book.  There 
are  multitudes  of  poor  books  from  good  authors. 

Have  always,  in  purchasing,  an  intelligent  plan.  Do 
not  buy  accidentally.  Even  if  a  book  be  valuable,  it  may 
be  in  a  department  of  literature  in  which,  at  the  expense 
of  some  other  department,  you  are  tolerably  supplied. 

Pieference  books  (which,  indeed,  should  constitute  the 
main  part  of  a  small  library,  economically  gathered)  should 
be  in  substantial  bindings.  But  a  given  amount  of  money 
may  be  made,  by  the  selection  of  other  books  in  cloth  bind- 
ings, to  cover  a  larger  number  of  volumes. 

Many  a  young  minister,  by  buying  sets  of  books  (as  the 


PASTORAL    THEOLOGY.  379 

complete  works  of  an  author)  only  two  or  three  of  which 
are  of  valne,  wastes  his  money. 

To  subscribe  for  books  issued  serially,  in  numbers,  is 
very  rarely  wise.  They  will  be  found,  when  the  whole  set 
has  been  taken,  and  bound,  to  have  been  extravagantly 
costly.  These  issues  in  numbers,  with  a  call  for  only 
twenty-five  or  fifty  cents  at  a  time,  are  a  trick  of  the 
trade. 

A  pastor  may  induce  his  people  to  found  a  pastor's 
library.  They  can  be  made  to  see  that  it  will  be  a  valua- 
ble investment  to  enrich  their  own  pulpit  and  enhance  their 
profit  from  it. 

Prof.  Murray  has,  appended  to  his  article,  several 
brief,  but  valuable  lists  of  books,  in  different  branches  of 
learning,  recommended  by  able  scholars. 


REFORMS  IN  FUNERALS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Eichmond,  Va.,  Evangelical  Alli- 
ance, representing  the  Protestant  churches  of  that  city,  a 
committee  reported  on  possible  improvements  in  the  con- 
duct of  funerals.  The  report  speaks  of  a  growing  disinclina- 
tion to  funeral  sermons.  They  are  usually  of  little  profit. 
A  young,  inexperienced  minister  is  apt  to  hope,  in  great 
confidence,  for  saving  impressions  on  such  occasions. 
The  solemnity  of  the  scene  he  takes  for  a  most  promising, 
providential  opening  for  such  impressions.  But  the  fact 
is  that  the  attendants  are,  many  of  them,  drawn  by  sheer 
curiosity  to  see  what  disposition  the  preacher  will  make  of 
the  departed.     And  many  go  as  they  would  to  a  tragedy. 


380  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

in  a  theater.  They  expect  to  be  moved  to  tears.  That  is 
part  of  the  programme.  Any  deeper  impression  than  this 
— any  movement  beyond  the  sensibihties — is  almost  hope- 
less. Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  is  said  to  have  remarked  that, 
of  all  the  hundreds  of  funeral  sermons  he  had  preached, 
he  could  hardly  remember  one  to  which  he  could  ascribe 
any  fruit.  And  with  the  embarrassments  when  one  stands 
by  the  bier  of  a  man  who  lived  a  godless  life  every  exper- 
ienced pastor  is  familiar.  It  would  be  better  to  confine 
the  funeral  service,  mainly,  to  Scripture  reading,  prayer 
and  hymn.  There  are,  however,  instances  in  which  a 
funeral,  held  on  the  outskirts  of  a  community,  is  attended 
by  so  many  who  are  never  seen  in  a  church,  as  to  offer  an 
opportunity  that  no  faithful  preacher  can  forego,  for  show- 
ing the  need  of  truth. 

Needless  and  dangerous  exposure,  on  damp  ground, 
in  chilly  weather  perhaps,  at  the  grave,  also  comes  into  this 
report  for  notice.  Thip  is  an  evil  often  endured  by 
mourners;  when  the}'  would  gladl}'  retire,  out  of  the  fear  that 
some  one  will  count  them  wanting  in  respect  and  affection 
for  the  dead.  A  pastor  may  render  excellent  service  by 
gently  reminding  them  of  the  danger  to  health  and  lead- 
ing them  away. 

Another  evil,  mentioned  in  this  report,  but  with  no  sug- 
gestion of  any  adequate  remedy,  is  the  burdensome  ex- 
pensiveness  of  funerals.  This  heavy  cost,  when  perhaps 
the  only  bread-winner  of  the  family  has  been  taken,  is  one 
of  the  most  cruel  of  all  the  tributes  levied  by  fashion.  The 
effectual  recourse  is  to  a  burial  at  some  other  hour,  or  day, 
from  that  on  which  the  funeral  service  is  held.  The  obse- 
quies may  then  be  made,  without  embarrassment,  to  cor- 
respond with  the  resources  of  the  household. 


PASTOBAL    TIlEOLoaY.  381 


A  CONGREGATIONAL  RITUAL. 


The  Churchman,  of  New  York,  recently  discussed,  from 
the  Episcopalian  position,  the  apparent  desire  in  the  Con- 
gregationalist  churches,  for  some  enrichment  of  the  order 
of  worship.  The  Churchman  assumes  that,  as  the  extempore 
prayer  offered  by  a  pastor  is  not  shaped  in  its  utterance 
by  the  people,  it  is  to  them,  as  they  worship  through  it, 
nothing  else  but  a  form.  So  the  editor  holds  it  to  be  su- 
perior in  no  respect  to  a  prayer-book ;  and,  in  that  it  de- 
pends on  the  ability  of  the  minister,  far  inferior  to  the 
book.  Very  poor  reasoning,  as  it  appears  to  us.  For  it 
takes  account  of  only  one  of  the  evils  of  a  form,  viz :  that 
it  is  not  language  shaped  at  the  moment  by  the  assem- 
bly. That,  of  course,  so  far  as  an  evil  at  all,  is  a  neces- 
sary evil.  But  the  worst  evils  of  a  form  are  quite  different. 
They  are  two-fold.  The  first  is  that  the  form  is  inflexible. 
Whatever  event  may  have  recently  happened,  whether 
great  calamity,  or  thrilling  piece  of  good  fortune,  whether 
the  congregation  has  gathered  in  tears  or  joy,  there  is 
an  unbending  cast  of  sentences  w^ith  which  they  must  ap- 
proach the  Mercy  Seat.  Extempore  prayer,  on  the  con- 
trary, allows  the  minister,  and  the  people  w^ith  him,  to  give 
utterance  to  the  feeling  that  fills  every  heart.  We  had  a 
single  instance,  in  both  kinds,  on  the  Sunday  following  the 
death  of  President  Lincoln.  The  whole  nation  was  plunged 
in  depths  of  grief.  But,  while  the  non-ritualistic  churches 
w^ere  worshiping  in  w^ords  befitting  the  occasion,  the 
churches  which  used  a  ritual  were  in  a  sore  strait  with  the 
Jubilations  of  Easter  put  into  their  lips. 

A  second  evil  of  forms  of  prayer  is   that  they  become 


382  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

too  familiar.  They  are  learned  almost  by  rote.  Like 
well-worn  coins  they  lose  their  impression.  Even  in  re- 
gard to  the  Lord's  Prayer,  for  example,  everyone  using  it 
must  be  aware  that  really  to  pray  in  these  touching  and 
beautiful  words,  requires  a  positive  effort  of  the  mind  and 
heart.  They  slip  from  the  tongue  so  glibly  that  the  dan- 
ger is  that  of  reciting  them  thoughtlessly  as  one  does  the 
alphabet.  It  is  seriously  doubtful  whether  our  Lord  ever 
intended  that  those  words  should  be  used  as  they  now  are 
so  generally  used — whether  He  did  not  design  the  Prayer 
only  as  a  schedule  of  natural  and  fit  subjects  to  take  into 
our  petitions. 

Hardly  any  change  is  so  much  needed  for  the  enrich- 
ment of  our  service  as, fuller  BitZe  exposition.  A  pastor  who 
will  inquire  of  even  prominent  and  intelligent  men  will  be  as- 
tonished to  find  how  ignorant  they  are  of  the  results  of  the 
latest  and  best  Christian  scholarship.  Let  the  Scriptures 
be  twice  read  at  each  service — once  for  devotional  use,  re- 
sponsively,  and  once  for  exposition.  Let  the  pews  be  well 
provided  with  Bibles.  Then  while  the  people  follow  him, 
each  one  with  the  book  open,  let  the  minister,  after  careful 
study,  briefly  expound  about  a  dozen  verses  of  Scripture. 
In  some  churches  the  choir  and  the  congregation  alternate, 
the  former  chanting  a  verse,  the  latter  reading  the  next,  and 
so  on.  There  is  no  difficulty, with  a  little  invention  on  the 
part  of  a  pastor,  in  devising  as  much  variety  as  is  needful 
or  profitable  in  the  w^hole  service. 

RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  IN    SCHOOLS. 

Bishop  McQuaid,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  has,  under  this 
title  in  The  Forum  for  December,   1889,  a  characteristic 


PASTORAL    THEOLOGY.  383 

Eoman  Catholic  onslaught  on  our  Public  School  system. 
It  is  quite  evident  that  that  Church  is  coming,  more  and 
more  clearly,  to  see  that  the  diversion  of  the  public  funds, 
for  the  support  of  parochial  schools,  is  a  matter  ^^vel  stan- 
tis  I'd  cadentis  ecdesice."  Their  hue  and  cry  that  the  pub- 
lic school  is  a  Protestant  institution  and  opposed  to  the 
'•Church,"  is  true.  Not  at  all  in  the  sense  in  which  they 
use  the  words.  As  to  its  design  and  administration,  it  is  as 
impartial  towards  all  religious  sects  as  it  well  could  be.  But 
it  is  so  distinctively  for  the  education  of  the  people,  whom 
the  Romish  Church  leaves,  and  always  has  left,  in  ignor- 
ance, it  is  so  thoroughly  pervaded  by  the  free,  American 
spirit,  as  to  bear  heavily  against  the  imperious  assumptions 
of  the  Roman  Church.  For  the  same  reason  that  southern 
slaveholders  refused  education  to  the  negroes,  the  hierarchy 
would  refuse  it  to  the  children  of  their  own  people. 

This  is  not  an  unfair  or  uncharitable  judgment.  The 
idea  that  the  Roman  Church  would,  if  it  had  the  power,  re- 
store the  Inquisition,  is,  indeed,  we  believe  open  to  that 
charge.  Protestants  as  well  as  Romanists  did,  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  what  no  Protestant  would  defend  to-day.  It 
is  certainly  easy  for  Roman  Catholics  to  insist  that  the  In- 
quisition was  due,  not  to  their  Church,  but  to  the  barbarism 
of  the  age.  But  no  such  reply  w^ill  meet  the  charge  that 
ignorance  for  the  people  is  the  policy  of  that  Church. 
The  condition  to-day  of  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  Mexico, 
South  America,  where  the  priesthood  has  had,  for  centu- 
ries, almost  unlimited  control,  where  the  management 
of  whatever  little  education  has  been  allowed  has  been  in 
their  hands,  is  a  tremendous  fact  that,  like  the  ghost  of 
Banquo,  will  not   "down."     It  i§  easy  for  Bishop  McQuaid 


384  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

to  tell  us  that  "fature  generations  will  listen  to  no  silly- 
twaddle  about  Ireland,  Italy  and  Spain,  about  the  Pope, 
the  Inquisition  and  danger  to  our  liberties.*'  No  wonder 
that  the  mention  of  those  countries,  with  their  damning 
record,  stirs  the  Bishop's  ire.  It  is  a  very  disagreeable  sub- 
ject, no  doubt.  And  so  much  the  more,  as  it  shows  what 
is  the  policy  of  his  Church,  not  three  centuries  ago,  but 
to-day,  wherever  that  Church  still  keeps  its  power. 

His  reverence  insists  that  the  Catholic  parochial  schools 
are  as  far  advanced  and  as  effective  as  those  of  the  State. 
It  is  doubtless  true  that  they  are  better  than  any  system  ever 
attempted  in  any  Roman  Catholic  country.  They  are 
forced  up  by  competition,  by  public  sentiment,  and,  in 
many  cases,  by  being  made  responsible  to  the  public  in- 
spectors. But  that  they  are  notoriously  inferior  and  inad- 
equate is  proved  by  the  simple  fact  that  Roman  priests  are 
constantly,  to  keep  the  children  of  their  own  parishes  in 
these  schools,  threatening  the  parents  with  excommuni- 
cation. Their  great  difficulty  is  to  drag  their  people 
into  co-0])eration  with  themselves  in  their  crusade  against 
our  public  schools.  They  could,  if  they  should  choose, 
perhaps,  make  the  parochial  equal  to  the  public  instruction. 
But  the  remedy  would  be  worse  than  the  disease.  It 
would  be  the  precise  thing  which  their  Church  most  deeply 
dreads — an  effective  education  of  the  people. 

The  bishop  pronounces  the  public-school  system 
"thoroughly  godless  in  name  and  in  law."  To  him  and 
those  like-minded,  anything  that  should  not  teach  the  dog- 
mas of  his  Church  would  be  godless.  But  that  such  a  char- 
acter belongs,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  to  our  public  schools  is 
a  gross  and  groundless  slayder.       The  practical  moral  im- 


PASTOBAL    THEOLOGY.  385 

pression  made  on  children  and  youth  in  our  schools 
depends  immeasurably  more  on  the  teacher  than  on  any 
book  or  course  of  study.  And  our  teachers,  especially  the 
female  teachers,  who  are  an  immense  majority  of  the  whole, 
are,  very  largely.  Christian  persons  and  exerting  over  their 
pupils  a  Christian  influence.  The  cry  of  alarmists  that, 
because  a  chapter  of  the  Bible  is  not  daily  read,  the  school 
must  be  adjudged  godless,  is  much  like  a  similar  cry  about 
the  mention  of  the  name  of  God  in  the  national  Constitution. 

The  bishop  gives  us  two  or  three  pages  of  invective 
against  what  he  calls  "the  unadulterated  communism"  of 
our  public  schools.  He  is  disgusted  that  a  man's  children 
should  be  educated  at  the  expense  of  his  neighbors.  He 
might  as  well  complain  of  a  man  who  happens  to  have  a 
street-lamp  in  front  of  his  house  as  enjoying  illumination  at 
the  expense  of  his  neighbors.  If  the  State  (for  its  own  in- 
terest, observe,  not  for  that  of  the  child),  to  provide  itself 
with  good  citizens,  establishes  schools,  somebody  who  is 
father  of  a  family  must  enjoy  the  benefit.  And  the 
idea  that  he  is  "pauperized"  by  it  is  a  figment  of  the 
bishop's  imagination  that  will  never  impose  on  the  Amer- 
ican people. 

Another  absurd  assumption  of  the  bishop  is  that  his  co- 
religionists "do  not  ask  for  a  division  of  the  school  fund. 
Indeed,  they  fear  the  State."  (Is  it  an  accident,  by  the  way, 
that  he  always  writes  "State"  with  a  small  s?)  "They  ask 
simply  for  their  own  money,  unjustly  taken  from  them  for 
the  education  of  the  children  of  infidels  and  Evangelicals." 
We  waive  the  point  that  they  do  not  ask,  and  their  priests 
cannot  induce  theni  to  ask,  any  such  thing.  But,  if  they 
should,  what  would  that  be  but  asking,  with  true  Jesuit  in- 


386  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

direction  and  evasion,  for  public  funds  ?  Does  the  Bisliop 
mean  to  say  that  lawful  taxes,  lawfully  collected,  are  a 
present  to  the  State?  That  it  has  no  right  to  them?  To  as- 
sume that,  whenever  citizens  are  dissatisfied  with  the  use 
made  by  the  government  of  their  tax-money,  they  may 
demand  to  be  relieved  of  the  taxes,  would  be  a  new  posi- 
tion under  the  sun. 

The  fact  is,  and  the  Catholic  hierarchy  may  as  well 
understand  it,  that  the  record  of  their  Church  in  coun- 
tries where  they  have,  and  for  centuries  have  had, 
supreme  control,  puts  them  before  the  American  people 
under  the  grave  suspicion  of  being  enemies  of  popular 
education.  Until  they  reverse  that  record,  their  argu- 
ments against  our  Public  School  system  are  not  likely 
to  carry  much   weight  in  the  United   States. 

PROTESTANTISM    AND    EDUCATION. 

Mr.  John  Vienot,  in  the  Revue  Ckretienne  for  April, 
1889,  has  an  interesting  sketch  of  the  morejecent  educa- 
tional work  of  the  French  government,  together  with  some 
discussion  of  the  relations  of  Protestantism  to  primary 
school  instruction.  The  best  authority,  as  he  states,  cover- 
ing the  history  of  French  public  education,  since  1870,  is 
the  ''Dictionnaire  de  Pedagogie  et  d'InstructionPrimaire," 
compiled  by  M.  F.  Buisson,  and  published  within  the  last 
year.  The  public  school,  as  the  typical  and  necessary 
out-come  of  the  Protestant  principle  of  the  right  of  private 
judgment,  is  here  finely  outlined.  Compulsory  education 
was  vigorously  urged  by  Luther.  <'I  affirm,"  he  said, 
*^that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  authorities  to  compel  those  un- 


PASTORAL    THEOLOGY.  887 

der  their  rule  to  send  their  children  to  school."  So  with 
Melancthon  and  Bugenhagen.  The  excellent  service,  in 
this  direction,  of  the  Moravian  bishop,  Amos  Comenius, 
early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  is  here  commemorated. 
He  insisted  upon  instruction  by  the  mother  in  every  house, 
upon  a  primary  school  or  commune,  upon  a  gymnasium  in 
every  cit}^,  and  upon  an  academy  in  every  considerable 
province.  A  man  intelligent  enough  to  urge,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  seventeenth  century,  such  strides  of  progress, 
deserves  the  name  of  the  father  of  modern  systems  of  edu- 
cation. 

But  M.  Yienot  has  serious  apprehension  from  the 
complete  secularization  of  the  French  public  instruction. 
That  word  means  in  France  wdiat  it  cannot  mean  m  the 
United  States.  The  immense  dimensions  of  our  Sunday 
School  work,  involving,  as  is  stated  on  another  page, 
8,000,000  teachers  and  scholars,  or  half  the  whole  number 
on  the  globe,  is  a  strong  safe-guard  for  the  children.  But  a 
still  more  ejffective  protection  is  the  pervading  Christian 
sentiment  of  the  American  people.  Tens  of  thousands  of 
our  teachers  are  Christian  men  and  women.  Though  they 
offer  no  prayers,  read  no  Scripture,  in  the  schools,  their 
influence  is  that  of  prayer  and  Scripture,  day  after  day. 
But  neither  Sunday  Schools  nor  Christian  sentiment  is,  in 
France,  strong  enough  to  do  such  service  for  that  so  long 
priest-ridden  land.  The  danger  is  serious.  The  remedy 
is  not  in  attempting  to  make  the  schools  religious  in 
any  ceremonial  observances.  That,  in  France, would  mean 
only  putting  them  under  the  Eomish  clergy.  The  remedy 
is  in  evangelizing  the  French  people.  Only  so  can  their 
public  schools  be  saved  from  becoming  hot-beds  of  infidel- 
ity and  godlessness. 


388  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY, 

THE    AMERICAN    SUNDAY    SCHOOL. 

Under  this  title,  Eev.  Dr.  M.  H.  Hutton,  in  The  Pres- 
hyterian  Review  for  April,  1889,  discusses  our  Sunday 
School  as  a  pecuhar,  native  institution.  He  denies  any 
connection  between  it  and  either  the  post-exilic  Jewish 
Bible  schools  of  the  Jews,  the  catechumenical  training  of 
the  patristic  Church,  or  even  the  work  of  Kobert  Kaikes  at 
Gloucester,  England,  early  in  the  last  century.  The  im- 
mense success  and  power  of  the  Sunday  School  among  us 
appear  in  its  numbers,  which  are  almost  half  those  of  all 
the  teachers  and  scholars  on  the  globe.  In  1887,  there  was 
a  total  of  about  sixteen  and  a  half  millions,  with  eight  mil- 
lions of  them  in  the  United  States.  M.  Buisson,  chaij'- 
man  of  a  commission  from  the  French  government  to  in- 
vestigate our  whole  system  of  primary  instruction,  in  1 876, 
reported  that  "the  Sunday  School"  among  us,  "is  not  an 
accessory  agent;  it  is  an  absolute  necessity."  "All  things 
unite,"  he  added,  "to  assign  to  this  institution  a  great  part 
in  ^American  life."  Laveleye,  before  Buisson,  had  said, 
"The  Sunday  School  is  one  of  the  strongest  foundations 
of  the  republican  institutions  of  the  United  States." 

As  points  of  weakness  in  the  American  school.  Dr. 
Hutton  notes  :  1 — that  it  fails  to  educate  systematically. 
Portions  of  the  Bible  are  neglected.  The  knowledge  con- 
veyed is  fragmentary.  But  this  strikes  us  as  hypercritical. 
Large  portions  of  the  Book  are  not  fitted — were  never  in- 
tended to  be  fitted — for  use  in  the  instruction  of  children. 
It  by  no  means  follows,  if  a  Sunday  School  graduate  might 
tbe  tricked  into  looking  for  "the  book  of  Hezekiah"  among 
the  Minor  Prophets,  that  he  has  not  a  very  large  and  rich 
acquaintance  with  his  Bible. 


PASTORAL    THEOLOGY.  889 

2.  A  second  weakness,  as  Dr.  Hutton  urges,  is  the 
lack  of  grade  in  the  school.  Though  this  is  true,  there  is 
constant  improvement  going  on.  Most  schools  have  two, 
and  many  three  or  four  grades  of  scholars. 

3.  A  fourth  defect  he  makes  to  be  the  average  youth 
of  the  teachers.  He  questions  the  wisdom  of  assuming  that 
young  men  and  young  ladies  either  can  instruct  as  well,  or 
hold  as  strongly  in  their  influence,  the  younger  children, 
as  the  fathers  and  mothers  in  Israel.  But  the  ripe  adult 
who  retains  enough  of  the  enthusiasm  of  youth  to  interest 
the  little  ones,  is  too  rare  a  treasure  to  be  relied  upon  in 
one's  general  plans.  Dr.  Hutton  criticises,  also,  the  de- 
votional services  in  many  schools,  and  the  quality  of  the 
books  in  the  libraries. 

OUT-OF-TOWN    MISSIONS    FOR    CITY    CHURCHES. 

In  The  Andorer  Review  for  August,  1889,  Mr.  John 
Tunis  objects  to  the  method  of  aiding  feeble,  rural  churches 
by  our  large,  charitable  societies.  That,  as  he  claims,  is 
the  work  of  a  corporation.  It  has  no  more  vital,  sympa- 
thetic touch  on  the  struggling  church  than  by  an  annual 
check  from  a  treasurer.  There  is  no  stimulus  in  it.  The 
weak  brotherhood  comes  to  feel  itself  entitled  to  the  peri- 
odic payment.  Little  close  supervision  is  possible,  to  dis- 
cover whether  the  members  of  that  brotherhood  bear  their 
full  share  of  their  expenses.  There  is,  as  this  writer  holds, 
a  more  excellent  way.  Let  some  strong  city  church  take 
this  weaker,  rural  body  under  its  care.  Let  the  pastor 
make  the  personal  acquaintance  of  its  pastor  and  the  flock. 
Let  there  be  occasional  meetings  in  the  country  parish,  to 


393  PBACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

which  a  good-sized  delegation  shall  go  out  from  the  foster- 
church.  This  brotherly  interest,  accompanied  by  such 
pecuniary  aid  as  may  be  advisable  and  possible,  Avill  do 
immeasurably  more  than  any  commercial  draft  from  a 
distant  charitable  corporation  to  infuse  new  life  into  the 
veins  of  the  body  ecclesiastical  in  the  rural  community.  It 
is  quite  certain  that  we  have  delegated  too  largely  to  our 
societies  and  agencies  the  brotherly  fellowship  that  should 
be  maintained  between  the  local  churches.  Instead  of 
coming  heart  to  heart  we  have  touched  one  another  at 
arms'  length. 

SOCIAL  DRAWING  ROOMS. 

In  The  Forwm  for  October,  1889,  Bishop  F.  D.  Hunt- 
ington has  a  •''  Drawing  Koom  Homily  "  on  the  frivolities 
and  jealousies  and  inanities  of  the  fashionable  drawing- 
room  entertainment.  It  repeats  largely,  and  somewhat 
vigorously,  the  line  of  diatribe  in  Mr.  George  William  Cur- 
tis' "  Potiphar  Papers." 

The  higher  is  one's  Christian  position,  the  more  thor- 
oughly he  will  deplore  the  manner  in  which  too  many  of 
these  entertainments  are  conducted.  It  seems  to  be  a  sort 
of  unwritten  law  that  to  pass,  in  conversation,  beyond  the 
commonplaces,  the  weather,  politics,  dress,  or  the  latest 
newspaper  gossip,  to  enter  on  any  matter  that  cannot  be 
disposed  of  in  a  five  minutes'  chat,  is  a  social  felony.  All 
together  are  put  into  a  routine-drill,  in  which  there  is 
about  as  much  liberty  of  motion  and  conversation  as  a 
parade  of  militia. 

The  idle  waste  of  wealth  is   an  added  evil.     One  host 


PASTORAL    THEOLOGY.  391 

competes  with  another  in  the  costhness  of  a  gustatory 
triumph,  which  the  fashionable  caterer  knows  how  to  aug- 
ment. To  go  to  and  fro  from  the  scene  without  a  carriage 
is  hardly  less  than  to  risk  one's  social  standing.  Young 
clerks  and  tradesmen,  of  slender  means,  are  exposed  to 
fearful  temptation  of  embezzlement. 

The  entertainment  provided  is  for  the  body  with  its 
appetites. 

The  idea  that  the  soul  is  of  chief  rank  and  importance 
— the  body  a  mere  appendix  to  that — is  not  so  much  as 
recognized.  Very  likely,  if  any  rational  conversation  is  at- 
tempted, it  is  drowned  by  the  orchestra  in  such  a  din  of 
sound  that  one  might  as  well  address  his  remarks  to  a 
tornado. 

But  if  we  are  rational  creatures ;  if  wq  believe,  what 
all  so  readily  assert,  that  the  soul  is  of  immeasurably 
greater  account  than  the  body,  why  not  recognize  that  fact 
on  occasions  like  these  ?  Why  not  let  the  physical  enter- 
tainment be  kept  moderate  and  plain,  while  the  intellec- 
tual shall  be  of  as  high  an  order  as  possible  ? 

It  is  quite  certain  that,  except  in  a  gathering  of  scien- 
tists and  other  savants,  the  intellectual  pabulum  furnished 
by  mere  extempore  conversation  is  not  likely  to  be  of  a 
hig-h  order.  There  ought  to  be  something  presented  on 
which  previous  thought  has  been  expended.  Let  that  have 
the  precedence.  Then  let  conversation,  having  been  thus 
nourished  and  stimulated,  come  in  as  a  somewhat  inci- 
dental matter.  We  have  already,  and,  apparently,  in  in- 
creasing numbers,  small  associations  or  circles,  meeting 
perhaps  fortnightly,  in  which  a  valuable  paper  is  read, 
followed  by  remark  and  discussion,  a  modest  collation  is 


392  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

served,  and  the  company  retire  with  the  consciousness  of 
an  evening  rational!}^  and  usefully  spent. 

John  Foster  somewhere  speaks,  in  his  diary,  of  his- 
commiseration  of  young  lovers  who  come  together  point- 
blank,  to  say  only  "I  love  you  and  you  love  me."  Why 
can  they  not,  he  asks  in  substance  (for  we  quote  from 
memory),  meet  on  lines  converging  towards  some  one 
grand  aim  or  interest,  which  draws  them  together  because 
both  are  drawn  toward  that  ?  It  is  a  question  that  may 
well  be  put  to  our  fashionable  society  in  its  entertain- 
ments. When  the  guests  meet  for  some  end  beyond 
gossip  and  chat,  uhey  will  gathei'  with  keener  zest  and 
part  with  higher  self-respect  and  mutual  esteem. 

WOMEN  AMONG  THE  EARLY  CHURCHES. 

Principal  Donaldson,  of  the  University  of  St.  Andrews, 
contributed  a  valuable  article  on  this  interesting  theme 
to  the  Contemporary  Review  for  September,  1889. 

The  Church  of  the  earlier  Christian  centuries  rather 
fell  back  from,  than  advanced  beyond  the  respect  for 
woman  shown  in  Apostolic  times.  As  Christianity  was 
itself  a  daring  revolution,  it  might  have  been  expected  to 
work  a  beneficent  revolution  in  favor  of  the  emancipation 
and  elevation  of  the  oppressed  sex.  In  the  churches  of  the 
first  century  women  were  accorded  a  quite  prominent 
part.  But  presently  they  began  to  appear  only  as  mar- 
tyrs and  deaconesses.  Their  astonishing  heroism  as  mar- 
tyrs, amidst  the  most  appalling  tortures,  need  not  be  here 
recounted.  As  deaconesses,  they  co-operated  with  their 
brethren,    not  onlv  in  the   distribution   of  alms,  and   the 


PASTOBAL    THEOLOGY.  393 

care  of  the  poor  of  their  own  sex,  but  in  the  spread  of  the 
gospel.  Paul  calls  several  of  them  his  fellow-laborers — 
probably  in  this  latter  capacity. 

Also  we  begin  to  read  of  widows,"  who  constituted  a 
peculiar  sort  of  office-bearers,  with  a  special  work  (I.Tim. 
V,  3 — 16).  But  gradually  widowhood  fell  in  the  esteem 
of  the  churches  and  virginity  rose.  In  Tertullian's  time, 
virgins  were  elected  for  the  duties  of  "widow"  and  called 
widows. 

To  the  end  of  the  second  century,  there  were  no  public 
buildings  for  Christian  worship.  Disciples  met  in  private 
houses.  But  when,  in  the  increase  of  numbers  and  wealth, 
churches  were  built,  the  care  of  them  devolved  on  the  dea- 
cons, assisted  by  the  deaconesses.  The  latter  acted  as 
ushers,  and  saw  that  all  were  quiet  and  reverent  in  be- 
havior. 

The  widows  had  no  spiritual  functions.  They  were 
not  to  teach.  The  widow's  occupation  is  covered  by  the 
words,  "She  is  to  sit  at  home,  sing,  pray,  read,  watch, 
fast,  and  speak  to  God  continually  in  songs  and  hymns." 

The  deaconnesses,  too,  were  prohibited  from  teaching. 
But  they  had  greater  liberty  of  movement  than  the  widows, 
who  were  enjoined  to  be  obedient  to  them. 

In  this  exclusion  of  women  from  every  sacred  function 
the  early  Church  was  behind  both  the  heretical  sects  and 
the  heathen.  The  priestesses  and  the  Vestals  were  high  in 
position  and  in  honor.  And  for  centuries  the  Church  was 
able  to  do  but  little  to  relieve  Christian  women,  who  were 
slaves,  from  the  degradation  to  which,  by  Koman  law,  they 
were  doomed.  Though  slaves  could  not  be  legally  married, 
the  Church,  despite    the  law,    married  them  and,  to  the 


394  PB ACTIO AL    THEOLOGY. 

last  degree  possible,  maintained  the  sacredness  of  the  rela- 
tion. 

From  the  first  it  was  evident  that  our  Lord  and  his 
apostles  put  honor  on  marriage.  There  could  be  no  ques- 
tion of  that.  But  as  Gnostic,  and,  later,  ManichaBan,  no- 
tions of  the  evil  inherent  in  matter  fostered  asceticism, 
marriage  fell  into  lower  repute.  Children  are  seldom  men- 
tioned, at  all,  in  the  Christian  writings  of  the  second  and 
third  centuries.  Naturally  all  this  bore  heavily  against  a 
due  respect  for  woman.  She  came  to  be  regarded  as  a 
siren,  laying  perilous  snares  for  the  godly.  Virginity 
was  exalted  to  high  honor,  and  celibacy  lauded  as  the  hea- 
venly state.  Tertullian  addressed  to  woman  such  lan- 
guage as  this:  "You  are  the  devil's  gateway;  you  are  the 
unsealer  of  that  forbidden  tree ;  you  are  the  first  deserter 
of  the  divine  law ;  you  are  she  who  persuaded  him  whom 
the  devil  was  not  valiant  enough  to  attack." 

The  only  protection  from  so  dangerous  a  character 
was  to  shut  her  up.  Into  seclusion  therefore  'she  was  re- 
manded. The  Christian  writers  of  the  time  insist  that  she 
shall  not  appear  at  banquets,  at  marriage  feasts,  at  the 
theater,  the  public  baths,  or  on  streets.  She  must  remain 
at  home.  If  she  would  have  exercise,  Clement  of  Alex- 
andria teaches  her  to  'Sspin  and  weave  and  superintend 
the  cooking."  "Women,"  he  says,  "are,  with  their  own 
hand,  to  fetch  from  the  store  whatever  we  require:  and  it 
is  no  disgrace  to  them  to  apply  themselves  to  the  mill." 
In  short,  she  was  to  fill  her  function  in  making  herself 
as  meekly  and  usefully  as  possible  a  household  drudge. 

xlccording  to  Principal  Donaldson,  there  is,  through 
those  earlier  centuries,  a  striking  absence  of  appearance  of 


I\  1  .s-  TOR.  t  /.    TIIEOL  ()G  I '.  .S95 

any  cheerful,  Cliristiau  home  Ut'e.  ''No  son  succeeds  his 
father ;  no  wife  comforts  the  wearied  student ;  no  daughter 
soothes  the  sorrow  of  the  agedhishop."  He  ascribes  to  this 
homelessness  the  prevaihng  hardness  of  heart, in  which  men 
disputed  with  bitterness,  even  ferocity,  minute  points  of 
doctrine  which  are  now  counted  incomprehensible  and  mat- 
ters of  indifference.  Beyond  question,  tne  rise  of  woman 
in  our  happier  era,  to  the  respect  and  influence  that  belong 
to  her,  has  softened  and  sweetened  the  social  life  of  our 
day. 

DEACONESSES     IN    AMERICA. 

A  valuable  article,  by  Elizabeth  K.  Holdeu,  in  the 
Ghristlan  at  Work,  gives  information  as  to  these  "Sister- 
hoods." 

The  attempt  of  the  honored  and  reverend  Pastor 
Fliedner,  ot"  the  Kaiserswerth  Deaconess'  House,  in  1849, 
to  establish  a  like  work  in  this  country  seems  to  have 
met  but  ill-success.  Two  of  the  sisters  were  appointed 
to  labor  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  three  or  four  others  joined 
them.  But  beyond  those,  there  were  no  considerable 
accessions. 

A  splendid  property,  however,  has  been  given,  in  Phil- 
adelphia, for  a  "Mother-House  of  Deaconesses,"  and  Mr. 
JohnD.  Lankman,  a  German  Christian  philanthropist,  who 
is  its  patron,  seems  unwearied  in  his  gifts  and  endeavors. 

In  the  Episcopal  Church  are  sixteen  Sisterhoods.  Their 
work  is  the  care  of  the  sick  and  the  poor,  young  ladies 
schools,  refuges,  reformatories,  and  other  like  enterprises. 
They  have  in  all  about  250  Sisters  an  I  novitiates.    The 


396  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

Sisters  take  the  triple  vow  of  "chastity,  povert}*  and  obed- 
ience." The  largest  of  these  bodies  is  the  "Community  of 
St.  Mary's,"  in  New  York,  with  90  members  and  novitiates. 
There  are  Deaconesses,  also,  whose  vow  is  for  only  a  term 
of  years.     That  of  the  Sisters  is  for  life. 

The  Methodist  Church,  which,  though,  naturally,  not 
in  sympathy  with  these  stringent  and  irrevocable  vows,  is 
deeply  responsive  to  suffering  and  want,  has  taken  meas- 
ures looking  in  the  same  general  direction.  The  General 
Conference,  in  May,  IbSS,  authorized  the  founding  of  an 
Order  of  Deaconesses,  who  should  have  mainly  the  same 
duties  with  those  above  mentioned.  Two  years  of  contin- 
uous service  were  prescribed  by  the  Conference 
as  requisite  for  a  member  of  the  Order.  Three, 
who  were  consecrated  in  Chicago,  in  1SS9,  were 
graduates  of  the  "Chicago  Training  School  for  City,  Home 
and  Foreign  Missions."  There  are  about  thirty  Deacon- 
esses, in  the  four  Homes  which  have  been  founded  in 
Chicago,  Minneapolis,  Cincinnati  and  New  York. 

The  Presbyterians,  both  in  the  last  "General  Coun- 
cil" and  the  last  General  Assembly,  have  spoken  in 
warm  commendation  of  the  recognition  of  Deaconesses  in 
their  Communion.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  and  the 
other  Christian  Denominations  will  take  practical  measures 
toward  an  agency  which  is  so  seriously  needed  and  may  do 
so  beneficent  a  work. 

REACHING     THE     MASSES. 

The  work  which  Mr.  D.  L.  Moody  has  undertaken 
in  Chicago,  with  the  training-school  he  is  inaugurating, 


PASTORAL    THEOLOGY.  397 

will  raise  some  signally  important  questions.     His  object, 
like  all  the  objects  he  cherishes,  is  above  praise.  He  hopes 
\o  reach  with  the  gospel  the  mechanics  and  other  laboring 
classes,  who  are  not  now,  for  various  reasons,  found  in  our 
<5  hurdles. 

As  he  states  to  the  reporters  of  the  press,  he  seeks 
*^men  of  business-training,"  wdio  "understand  the  book  of 
human  nature,  what  the  people  need,  and  how  to  reach 
them."  He  says,  ''The  Kebellion  never  would  have  been 
put  down  by  West  Point  graduates  alone.  We  had  to 
have  volunteers.  Just  so  it  is  here.  We  cannot  do  our 
work  with  nobody  but  the  gi-aduates  of  oar  seminaries. 
We  must  have  volunteers."  "A  young  man  with  a  good, 
English  education,  ought  to  be  ready  for  his  work  in  one  or 
two  years."  "Women  are  better  qualified  than  men  for 
this  work.  A  woman  can  go  to  a  w^oman,  right  into  her 
kitchen,  and  sit  down  by  her  wash-tub  and  give  her 
help." 

Mr.  Moody  has  buildings  for  his  school,  in  Chicago, 
which  cost  $100,000,  with  $125,000  more  for  endow- 
ment. 

Now  every  Christian  will  eagerly  hope  that  this  noble 
work  may  succeed.  No  exception  can  be  taken  to  any- 
thing said  by  Mr.  Moody  in  support  of  it.  But  there  are 
some  possible  complications  and  embarrassments  which 
must  not  be  thrust  from  sight.  They  are  not  likely  to 
beset  any  of  these  lay  evangelists  who  do  their  work  only  at 
odd  hours,  while  depending  for  their  livelihood  on  some 
other  business.  No  such  embarrassments  as  those  to 
which  we  refer  will  trouble  Christian  women,  graduating 
from  this  school.     But  young  laymen  who    adopt    evan- 


398  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY 

gelistic  work  as  a  profession,  by  ^Yllich  they  live,  will 
occupy  an  anomalous  position.  They  will  be  neither 
clergy  nor  laity.  On  a  ridge  between  the  two,  they  will 
require,  if  they  are  to  walk  steadily,  remarkable  equil- 
ibrium. The  danger  is,  that  they  will  begin  to  look, 
and  their  wives,  when  they  marry,  will  still  more  eagerly 
look,  toward  the  dignity  and  social  prominence  of  a  pastor's 
position.  The}^  will  wish  to  be  ordained  as  ministers. 
Church  authorities  will  incline  to  ordain  them.  And  the 
result  may  be  an  influx  of  half-furnished  men  into  a  pro- 
fession which  vitally  needs  to  be  kept,  as  to  ability  and 
learnmg,  at  its  very  best.  Mr.  Moody,  himself,  of 
course,  is  liable  to  no  such  contingency.  He  is  in  no 
need  of  any  prestige  or  prominence.  His  name  is  known 
around  the  world.  And,  if  it  were  not,  he  is  a  man  of 
such  absolute  self-forgetfulness  and  marvelous  balance 
of  character,  as  to  be  fully  content  with  his  lot.  He  is 
probably  far  more  useful  without  ordination,  than 
he  could  be  with  it.  But  it  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  he  will  be  able  to  infuse  his  own  admirable  sense 
and  judgment  into  the  graduates  of  his  school.  If  his 
grand  enterprise  escapes  the  danger  here  intimated,  we 
believe  it  will  accomplish  a  work  for  Christ  in  which 
all  good  men  will  rejoice  with    thanksgiving. 

TAXATION    OF    CHURCH    PROPERTY. 

This  matter  was  ably  discussed  by  Mr.  Henry  C.  Ved- 
der,  in  the  Macjazhu  of  Christian  Literature,  for  February, 
1890. 

He  wastes  no  time  on  the  plea  often  thrown  in  by  well- 


PASTORAL    TIIEOLOOV.  399 

meaning  but  short-sighted  religionists,  tliat  it  is  hard  if,  in 
a  Christian  country,  we  cannot  have  something  hehl  sacred 
from  the  tax-gatherer's  hand.  He  clearly  sees  that,  if  the 
exemption  of  ecclesiastical  property  from  assessment  can- 
not be  defended  (without  regard  to  religious  sentiment)  on 
broad  grounds  of  economic  policy,  it  must  and  ought  to  be 
abandoned. 

This  discussion  has  been  revived  of  late  by  the  passage, 
in  Quebec,  of  the  Jesuits'  E'^tates'  Bill,  by  which  a  gift  of 
$400,000  was  made,  direct  from  the  public  treasury,  as  in- 
demnity for  the  confiscation  of  Jesuit  property,  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  George  the  Third,  in  1.791.  The  Canadian  Bap- 
tist Convention,  indignant  at  that  bill  (which  seems  to  have 
been  one  of  obvious  equity,)  passed  a  resolution  in  protest. 
Their  resolution  does  not  really  touch  the  main  question 
of  exemption.  It  only  complains  of  favoritism  to  a  siiigle 
church.  But  the  controversy  has  stimulated  interest  afresh 
in  the  whole  matter  of  exemption. 

There  are  one  or  two  important  principles  which  Mr. 
Vedder  touches  too  lightly  and  briefly.  The  first  is  that 
no  government  has  ever  pretended  to  tax,  equally,  ad 
valorem,  all  the  property  of  its  citizens.  The  general  wel- 
fare, and  the  bearing  of  the  impost  on  that,  have  been  the 
sole  tests  in  levying  on  any  particular  species  of  wealth 
either  a  heavy  assessment,  or  a  light  one,  or  none  at  all. 
Any  argument  for  taxing  church-property,  based  on  the 
sole  ground  that  other  property  is  taxed,  is  therefore 
futile. 

The  second  principle  is  that  the  State  not  only  confers 
no  proper  benefit  on  the  Church  by  exemption,  but  remains, 
after  it,  still  under  heavy  ohligation  to  the  Church.     "Who 


400  PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

does  not  know,"  says  Mr.  Vedder/'tliat  the  presence  of  a 
clmi'cli  in  a  locality  increases  the  value  of  all  the  surround- 
ing property?  So  fully  is  the  fact  appreciated  that  specu- 
lators in  real-estate  willingly  give  lots  for  the  building  of  a 
church,  in  the  full  persuasion  that  they  will  reimburse 
themselves  by  the  sale  of  the  remaining  lots  at  higher 
prices."  This,  however,  as  every  candid  man  will  ac- 
knowledge, is  but  a  small  part  of  the  benefit  conferred  by 
a  church  on  the  public.  In  toning  up  popular  senti- 
ment, in  raising  the  grade  of  public  morality,  it  is  con- 
stantly working  to  reduce  the  number  of  criminals  and 
paupers,  to  care  for  the  aged,  for  orphans  and  blind  and 
insane,  and  so,  to  relieve  the  cost  of  government  and  the 
burden  on  the  tax-payer.  Churches,  therefore,  like  hos- 
pitals and  asylums  and  colleges,  are  a  valuable  kind  of 
growth  for  the  State  to  cultivate  for  its  own  interest.  And 
exemption  from  taxation  is  the  method  of  cultivation. 
This  exemption  the  wise  legislator  will  aim  to  carry  just 
so  far  as,  no  farther  than,  it  will  contribute  (without  the 
least  regard  for  the  Church,  or  for  religion,  as  such)  to 
the  public  welfare.  But  it  must  still  be  remembered  that 
the  exemption  leaves  the  State,  or  the  public,  largely  in- 
debted to  the  Church.  To  say  that  when  public-spirited 
citizens  have  expended,  say  $100,000,  on  an  edifice  which, 
with  the  work  done  in  it,  will  so  greatly  relieve  taxation, 
the  government  discharges  itself  of  the  obligation  con- 
ferred on  it  by  simply  refraining  from  requiring  those 
citizens  to  give  an  additional  sum  in  taxes  annually,  is 
absurd. 

Mr.  Vedder  seems  to  feel  pressed  by  the  objection  that 
*'to  exempt  church- property    from  taxation   is  the   same 


PASTORAL    THEOLOGY,  401 

thing  in  principle,  as  direct  state  aid  to  the  church."  In 
his  reply  to  this,  he  seems  not  very  happy.  He  says 
"government  may  give  indirect  aid  to  institutions  and 
enterprises  to  which  it  can  give  no  direct  aid.  Thus,  it 
would  not  be  constitutional  to  lay  taxes  on  the  people  for 
the  sake  of  paying  subsidies  to  manufacturers,  but  it  is 
constitutional  so  to  lay  taxes  as  to  afford  incidental  pro- 
tection to  American  industries."  He  evades  the  issue.  It 
is  not  one  of  constitutionalit}^,  but  of  principle.  As  to  even 
the  constitutionality,  unless  we  take  thorough  free-trade 
ground,  he  is  incorrect.  No  protectionist,  certainly,  would 
deny  the  right  of  the  government  to  grant  a  subsidy  to  a 
new  line  of  steamships  which  the  public  interest  might 
require,  and  which  private  capitalists,  without  such  subsi- 
dy, would  not  venture.  We  are  not  aware  that  anyone 
questioned  the  right  of  Congress  to  encourage  by  heavy 
grants  of  public  lands  the  buildmg  of  the  first  Pacific  rail- 
road. Bounties  on  the  killing  of  wild  animals  are  abund- 
antly common.  The  fact  is  that,  though  indirect  aid  to 
churches  may  be  constitutional  and  direct  not,  yet  in 2>rinci- 
ple  there  is  no  difference  between  them.  It  is  in  princi- 
ple the  same  thing  whether  a  church  is  aided  by  the  grant 
of  §1,000,  or  by  exemption  from  taxation  to  that  amount. 
We  all  object,  and  rightly,  to  the  Church  and  State  policy. 
But  the  meaning  of  that  has  always  been,  the  public  en- 
dowment of  some  single  church,  as  the  Eoman  Catholic  or. 
the  Church  of  England,  to  the  exclusion  of  others.  There 
are  sufficient  objections,  on  which  we  need  not  dwell,  to  that. 
There  would  be  sufficient  objections, also, to  aiding  «//  church- 
es indiscrimininately,  from  the  public    treasury.     But  the 


402  PliACTICAL    THEOLOGY. 

objection  would  not  be  that  such  aid  woukl  differ  in  princi- 
ple from  the  taxation  exemption  now  under  discussion. 

The  real  and  all-sufficient  ground  for  this  exemption  is  that 
the  State,  without  interest  in  the  churches,  as  such,  finds 
exemption  good  policy.  It  is  business.  It  pays.  But  a 
popular  and  plausible  objection  to  this  vindication  has  es- 
caped Mr.  Tedder's  notice.  "If  a  new  church,"  it  is  said, 
"raises  the  value  of  property  around  it,  so  does  a  new 
manufacturing  establishment  greatly  benetit  a  town.  Why 
should  not  that,  also,  be  exempted?"  For  the  simple  rea- 
son that  the  State  can  get,  witJiout  exemption,  the  factory 
with  all  its  benefits.  The  owners  of  it  expect  profit  from 
their  investment.  Self-interest  is  a  sufficient  motive.  But 
churches,  besides  working  far  more  efficiently  than  factor- 
ies, to  reduce  crime  and  pauperism  and  so  relieve  the  pub- 
lic treasury,  pay  no  dividends  to  those  wdio  build  them. 
Self-interest  would  never  erect  them.  In  short,  they  are  an 
exotic,  with  valuable  fruit,  on  our  earthly  soil,  which  the 
State  must  be  careful  not  to  discourage  in  its  growth. 
But  the  factory  is  a  plant  that  will  grow  wild. 

The  plea  that  exemption  enables  the  Eoman  Catholic 
Church  to  hold  an  enormous  property  free,  is  more  sensa- 
tional than  sound.  By  an  estimate,  made,  says  Mr.  Ved- 
der,  about  a  dozen  years  ago,  that  Church  held  in  the 
United  States,  some  §61,000,000  worth  of  property,  while 
the  Protestant  churches  held  J;^294,000,000  worth.  And 
the  growth  of  the  wealth,  as  well  as  members,  of  the  former 
is  more  and  more  rapidly  falling  behind  the  latter. 


[2s"DEX. 


Abbot,  Ezra,  65    . 

Abbott,  Signs  of  Promise,  371 


Acts  of  Apostles,  1'2 


81,  83, 


81,  85 
x\ges.  Middle,  Sects  of,  Dollinger, 

■212 
Ages,  Question  of,  Smith,  3-15 
Agrapha,  of  Gospels,  Eesch,  61 
Alexander,  on   English   Martvrs. 

223 
Allen,  on  Unitarianism,  261 
Allies,    Formation    of    Christen- 
dom, 175 
Angelologv    of    Paul,     Everling. 

129 
Amelinean,    Egypt.  Christianity. 

189 
America,  R.  Catholics  in,  266 
Apocalvpse,   The,  67,  72,  75,  81. 

94,  117,  118 
Apologetics,  Mead,  309 
Apostles'  Decree,  123 
Archiv  f.  Lit.  u.  k.  g.  d.    Mittel- 

alters,  196,  198,  201 
Arnold,  Nero's  Persecution,  116 
Art,  Early  Christian,  180 
Astruc.  11 

AthenuHim,  The,  232 
Augustine's  Account  of   Creation. 

Eaich,  163 

Baethgen,  Semitic  Religious  His- 
tory, 19 

Ballantine,  107 

Baudissin,  on  Pentateuch,  17,  on 
Name  of  God,  51 


Beard,  Life  of  Luther,  222 
Beginnings     of     Nen-     England, 

Eiske,  257 
Belief,  on  Behalf  of,  Holland,  316 
Bellesheim,    Catholic    Church  in 

Scotland,  236 
Bells,  Use  of,  Morillot,  182 
Bernard.  Life  of,    Cheyallier,  211 
Bert,  Homilies  of  Aphraates,  185 
Beyschlag,  on  Ep.  of  James,  93, 

on  Germ.  Church,  252 
Bible,  The  Expositor's,  21 
Bibliotheca  Sacra,  10.  107 
Blaikie,  on  Samuel,  25 
Board,  The  American,  271 
Bossert,    Conyersion  of   Wiirtem- 

berg,  209 
Brecht,  Criminal  Statistics,  271 
Briggs,   on   Confession  of  Faith, 

279,  on  Eschatology,  281 
Britain,  Great,  Churches  of,  254 
Bruce,  Kiagdom  of  God,  125,  296 
Buisson,    on   French   Education, 

386 

Canon,  of  New  Test.,  Zahu,  68 
Clark,  Witnesses  to  Christ,  318 
Clement,    of   Alexandria,    Love, 

161 
Clergy,   Morals  of,   in   M.    Ages, 

206'^ 
Chevallier,  Life  of  Bernard,  211 
Chiapelli,  135 

Christ,  Witnesses  to,   Clark,   318, 
Christendom,   Formation  of.    Al- 
lies, 175 


404 


IXDEX. 


Chi'istentliiim,  undog.,  by  Dreyer, 

304 
Christianity,  History  of,  135, 
Origin  of,  145. 
Sliread  of,   141 
Chronicles.  Books  of,  Oettli,  30 
Church,   Christian,     History     of, 
Schafi",  221, 
Early,  Organization  of, 

166, 
Early,  Teaching  of,  169 
The     Eastern,     Gelzer, 

199 
Life,  204 
Paul's   Ideal,   Kowland, 

362 
of  Middle  Ages,   190 
Eoman,  Dods,  67. 
The  Rom.  Cath.,  233, 
and  World,  146 
Churches,  Early,  Women  in,  392 
Churchman  The,-  on  Kitual,  381 
Colloquies  on  Preaching,  T^vells, 

331 
Comba,  on  Waldenses,  215 
Congragationalists,      Discussions 

among,  270 
Corinthians,    Epistles  to,    Dods, 

108,  Sadler,  109 
Cox,  House  and  its  Builder,  348 
Coxe,  The  Early  Church,  169 
Creighton,  on  Waldenses,  214 
Criticism,  Negative  and  the  Bible, 

136 
Criticism,  Theological,  299 

Dahmen,  on  Gregory  II.,  190 
Dalman,  on  Adonai,  52 
Davidsohn.  on  Innocent  III.,  206 
Dawson,  Threshold  of  Manliood, 

359 
Deaconesses  in  America,  395 
Death,  Thro'  to  Life,  Thomas,  357 
Demonology  of  Paul,  129 
Delflf,  on  Rabl)i  Jesus,  120 
Delitzsch,   on  New  and  Old  The- 
ology, 250 


Delitzsch,  oa  Pentateuch,  14,  16, 

19,  47 
Deuteronomy,  16,  18 
Dialog-  e,  bet.  Cr.  and  Jew,  187 
Diehl,  Exarchate  of  Eayenna,  190 
Discussions,  Public,  in  Theology, 

269 
Doctrine,   Christian,   by  Kedney, 

283 
Doctrine,  History  of,  154 
Dods,  on  Creation,  24,  New  Test. 

Introduction,  iSQ>,  I  Cor.   108 
Dogmatik,     Evangel.,      Nitzsch, 

288 
Dollinger,  on  Crusades,  206, 

on     Mediaeval     Sects, 

212 
and   Eeusch,  on  R.   C. 
Theology,  238 
Donaldson,     Women     in      Early 

1  hurches,  392 
Donation  of  Constantine,  193 
Draw^mg  Rooms,  Social,  390 
Dreyer,      Undogmat.      Chrisien- 

thum,  304 
Dykes,  Gospel  of  St.  Paul,  361 

Early     Church    Organization, 

166 
Ecclesiastes,  by  Yolck,  29 
Edersheim,  123 
Edessa,  Church  of,  144,  145 
Education,  Prot.,  Yienot,  386 
Ehrle,   on  Council  of  Vienna,  196 
Eirainer,  on  Ephraim  the  Syrian, 

165 
Eisele,  on  Jesuitism,  240 
Empire,  Roman  and  Chris' ianity, 

146 
Encyclopedia  of  Living  Divines, 

Schaft;  26 
England,    New%    Beginnings    of, 

Fiske,  257 
Ephesians,  E]  istle  to,  Dods,  67, 

Pfleiderer,  80 
Ephr  im,    the    Svrian,    Eirainer, 

165 


LXDKX 


405 


Epistles,  Catholic,  Zahn,  75, 
PHeiderer,  81 

Epistles,  Pastoral,  74,  75,  80,  80, 
90.  114 

Epistles,  The  Pastoral,  Plumnier, 
350 

Eremita,  The  Apocalypse,  118 

Eschatology  of  New  Eng.  Di- 
vines, 258 

Esther,  Book  of,  bv  Oettli,  32 

Ethics,  321 

Evanson,  85 

Everling,  Pauline  Angelologv, 
120 

Exarchate  of  Piavenna,  Diehl,  191 

Exegesis,  New  Test.,  102 

Exegesis,  Old  Test.,  24 

Exell,  Epistle  to  Galatians,  111 

Expositor,  The,  111,  141,  173 

Ezekiel,  by  Orelli,  27 

Ezra,  Book  of,  by  Oettli,  31 

Farrak,  Epistle  to  Hebrews,  90, 

Sermons,  364 
Findlay,    Epistle    to    Galatians, 

111 
Fiske,  Beginnings  of  N.  England, 

257 
Forum,  The,  382,  390 
Foster,    on   Eschatology  of  New 

Eng.  Divines,  258 
Frank,    on    Ritschl's    Theology, 

246 
Frank,  Y,,  on  Paissian  Christian- 
ity, 230 
Freedom,  Religious,  Progress  of, 

256 
Freeman,  Patriarchate  of  Pippin, 

190 
Friedrich,    Gift    of  Constantine, 

193 
Fridericq,  on  Incjuisition,  218 
Fridolin,    Apostle  of  Allemanni, 

Heer,  209 
Funerals,  Reforms  in,  379 


Galatians,  Epistle  to,  85,  111 
Gasquet,  on  l^noHsh  Monks,  225 
Gaul,  Christianity  in,  145 
Gelzcr,  on  East.  Churcli,  199 
Gemeindeverfassung  des  Urchris- 

tenthums,  Loening,  170 
Genesis,  Dods,  24 
Gerbert,  Letters  of,  193 
Gerberding,  261 
Gilbert,  on  Job,  20 
God,    Kingdom   of,    Bruce,     125, 

296 
God,    The   Immanent,    Jackson, 

352 
Gore,  Ministry  of  Christ.  Church, 

173 
Gospel,  The  Fourth,  73, 

of  Hebrews,  82,  83, 
of  John,  73,  101, 
According  to   St,    Paul, 

Dykes,  361 
Gospels,  Synojitic,  82 
Graf,  on  Pentateuch,  18,  19 
Graham,  on  the    Aj^ocalypse,  117 
Grassmann,  St.  Augustine,  164 
Greek,  Biblical  Essays  in.    Hatch, 

59 
Green,  on   Pentateuch,    5,  10,    11 
Gregory,     Prolegomena   to    JS^ew 

Test.*,  65 
Gregory  II,  Dahmen,  191 
Gretillat,  Syst.  Theology,  290 
Griffis,  Song  of  Songs,  21 
Grundriss  der  Dogmengeschichte, 

Harnack  166 
Grimm,  Lexicon  in  N.  Test.,  57 
Gunkel,  Paul's  Doct.  of  H.  Spirit, 

130 
Gwynn,  Hippolytus,  188 

Hagio(4Rapha,  Historical,   30 
Hagiographa,  Poetical,  28 
Handbuch    der    theol.    Wissen., 

183 
Handmann,  on  Gosp.  of  Hebrews, 

83 


406 


INDEX. 


Harnack,  68,    70,    71,72,    73,  74.1  Jackson,  The  Immanent  God,  352 
93,  137,  166,  178,  184,   18fi  iJahrbucher    f.  Prot.    Theol.,  137 

Haroun  al  llasliid,  Gorres,  219       James,  Epistle  of,    Beyschlag,  93 
Harper,  on  Pentatencli,  10  iJesns   Christ,     the   Divine    Man, 

Hatch,    Essays   in  Bib.  Greek,  09]     Yallings,  122 
Haupt,  on  Waldenses,  216  Jesus,  Kabbi,  Hist,  of,  Delff,   120 

Havet,  Letters  of  Gerbert,  193       |job   Book  of,  Gilbert,  20,  Yolck, 
Hebraica,  10  I     28,  Hatch,  61 

Hebrews,    Epistle   to,  73,  74,  75, 'Joel,  Prophecy    of,    Kuenen,     22, 


90,  92,  112,  113 
Hebrews,  Gospel    of,  82,  83 
Hendricks,    on    English    Monks, 

225 
Heer,  St.  Fridolin,  209 
Hermann,  on  Pitschl,  247 
Hesse,  on  Past.  Epp.,  89 
Hexatench,  The,  Kuenen,  22 
History,  Church,  Text   Book    of. 
Moeller,  148, 
Church,      Readings     in, 

Stone,  154, 
New  Test.,  120, 
of  Preaching,  Ker,  336 
Holden,  on  Sisterhoods,  395 
Holland,  on  Behalf  of  Belief,  346 
Holtzmann,  62,  82,  101,  105 
Homiletics,  Theoretical.  330 
Houghton,   John  the  Baptist,  120 
House  and  its  Builder,  Cox,  348 
Hugh   of  Cluny,  Life  of,  L'Huil- 

lier,  210 
Huguenots,  The,  227 
Huguenots,      Polit.     Theory    of, 

227 
Huntington,       Social      Drawing 

Rooms,     390 
Hutton,    on    Sir  Th.  More,  223 
Hutton,    The    Amer.     S.  School, 

388 

Indulgences,  in  Spain,  Lea,  235 
Inspiration,  Curtiss,  13 
Introduction,  Old.  Test.  5,Rielim, 

13,  Strack,  18 
Isaiah,  by  Smith,  26 


Orelli,  27 
John,  the  Baptist, Houghton,  120, 
Epistles  of,  81,  93,  111, 
Gospel  of,  73,  101 
Johansson,  the  Bible  and  Negative 

Criticism,   136 
Jonah,  by  Orelli,  27 

Kant,    Lotze,    and  Ritschl,    by 

Stahlin,  300 
Kedney,    on    Christian   Doctrine, 

283 
Keil,  on  Pentateuch,  19,  28 
Ker,  History  of  Preaching,  336 
Klopper,  on  II.  Thes3.,  89 
Kingdom,   The,    of  God,    Bruce, 

125,  296 
Knoke,Past.  Epp.,  114,  116 
Koenig,  History    of  Israel,  49,  51 
Kohncke,  Wibert  of  Ravenna,  194 
Kommentar,      Hand,  z.  N.  Test., 

82,  101 
Kuenen    on    Hexateuch,    22,     on 

Monotheism,  49 
Kurtz,  Church  History,  208 

Lamentations,      Book     oi,      by 

Oettli,  29 
Lanciani,  on  Ancient   Rome,   152 
Lazarus,  Resurrection    of,  Stein- 

meyer,  106 
Lea,  on  Indulgences,  235 
L'Huillier,  Hugh  of  Cluny,  210 
Liberty,  tlie  Law  of,  Whiton,  354 
Library,  Minister's,  Murray,  378 
Lichtenberger,  on  German  Theo- 
logy,   242 


INDEX 


407 


Liddon,  Sermons,    3()() 

Lipsius,  on  Liberal  Theology,  2rv5 

Literature,  Christ.    Magazine    of, 
308 
Theological,  183,  282 

Literaturhlatt,   Tlieol.,    181,     193 

Literatiirzeitung,      Theol.,      1()2, 
172,  178 

Livius,     St.    Peter,      Bishop     of 
Eome,  1()1) 

Loening,  Early  Church  Organiza- 
tion, 170 

Loots,  History  of  Doctrine,  1<)() 

Looshorn,  Otto   of  Bamberg,  207 

Love,  1()1 

Luther,  and  Keformation,  Beard, 
222 

Mac   Evilly,  on  Gospel  of  John, 

101 
Magazine   of  Christ.    Literature. 

398 
Mftgee,  Sermons,  367 
Manhood,  Threshold  of,  359 
Manning,   Sermons,  369 
Mark,  Gospel  of,  Pfleiderer,  80 
Martin,  Church  of  Edessa,  144 
Martyr,  Justin,  Purves,  157 
Masses,  Reaching  the.  Moody,  396 
Matthew,  Gospel  of,  Pfleiderer,  81 
McConnell,  Sermon  Stuff,  342 
McGiffert,  187 
McQuaid,    on  Rel.    Teacl:ing   in 

Schools,  382 
Mead,    Supernatural  Revelation, 

309 
Meinhold,  30 

Meyer,   Commentary,  82,  84,  85 
Millennium,    Idea    of,  Chiapelli, 

135 
Ministry,  Call  to,  Paxton,  377 

of  the  Christ.   Church, 
173 
Miodonski,  Anony.  adv.  Aleatores, 

184 
Missions,  Out  of  Town,  389 


Moeller,  Text  Book  of  C.  Hist., 
148 

Mohammedanism  and  Christi- 
anity, 219 

Moody,  Reaching  the  INIasses,  '.VM\ 

Monasticism,  208 

Monuments,  Christian,  in  Phry- 
gia,  Ramsay,  141 

Moral  Controversies  in  R.  Cath. 
Church,  238 

Morillot,  on  Bells,   182 

Morris,  on  Calvinism,  277 

Movement,  the  Oxford  and  Ward, 
255 

Midler,  Max,  50 

Murray,  Minister's    Library,    378 

Nkhemiah,  Book  of,  by  Oet- 
tli,  31 

Nero,  Persecution  under,  Ar- 
nold 146 

Nitzsch,  Dogmatik,  288 

Nobbe,  on  Prot.  Charities,  226 

Oettli,  on  Solomon's  Song,  29, 
Chronicles,  30,  Ezra  and  Nehe- 
miah,  31 

Orelli,  on  Ezekiel,  27 

Organization  of  Early  Church, 
166 

Origin  of  Christianity,  135. 

Otto  of  Bamberg,   Looshorn,  207. 

Paganism,  Influence     on     Chris- 
tianity, Purves,  157 
Papacy,  History  of,  190 
Papers  of  Amer.   Soc.  of  Church 

Hist.,  160 
Passages,    Difficult,    in  N.  Test., 

Riggs,  110 
Paul,    Angelologv     of,   Everling, 
129, 
on  Harnack's  Hist,  of  Doc- 
trine, 136 
Paul's   Doctrine   of   Holy  Spirit, 
Gunkel,  130, 


408 


INDEX. 


Paul's  Ideal  Clnirch,  302 
Paxton,  on  Call  to  Ministry,  377 
Pentateuch,  The,  Westphal,  5 
Perrenaud,  Prots.  in  France,  229 
Persecution  under  Nero,  Arnold. 

146 
Peter,   Bishoj:)   of  Rome,  Livius. 

169 


Reformation,       Counter,       Ward, 

234 
Reformation  in  England,  223, 
The  German,  220 
Reforms,  in  Funerals,  379 
Religion,  Ethical,  Salter,  321 
Religion    in  Rome  under  Severi, 

Reville,  149 
Reimensyder,  on  Didache,  169 
Renan,   on   God    of  Jews,  38,  on 

Origins  of  Christianity,  139 
Rendall,  Ep.  to  Hebrews,  90,  113, 
Phrygia,    Early    Monuments    in,!     128 

Ramsay,  141,  South,  Anti(iuities  Resell,  N.  T.  Agrapha,  61 
of,  Ramsay,   144  Resurrection,  The,  Plieiderer,   78 

Pippin,     Patriarchate     of.    Free- Resurrection,   of  Lazarus,  Steiu- 


77 
Pfleiderer,    E 
ders,  240 


on  R.    Cath.    Or- 


man,  190 

Plummer,  Past.  Epistles,  90,  350 

Poole,  on  Wiclif,  218 

Prayer,  in  Old  Test.,  127 

Preaching,  Collo(iuies  on,  Twells, 
331, 
History  of,  Ker,  336 

Presbyterianism,  Elizabethan,  254 

Presbyterians,  Discussions  among, 
276" 

Priesthood,  Old  Test.,  Baudissin, 
17 

Priscillian,  Schepss,  1(51 

Property,  Church,   Taxing,  398 

Prophets,  Minor,  Orelli,  27 

Protestantism     and      Education, 
Vienot,    386 

Purves,  Paganism  and  Christian- 
ity, 157 

Prutz,  Order  of  Templars,  195 

QUAllTALSCHIilFT,    Rom.,   181 

Quarterly,  Lutheran,  169 


meyer,  106 
Reusch  and   Dollinger,  on  R.  C. 

Theology,  238 
Revelation,   Sai3ernatural,  Mead, 

309 
Review,"  Andover,  389, 

English  Hist.,  169, 
Homiletic,  378, 
Presbyterian,    377,    388, 

157, 
Unitarian,  155 
Reville,    Relig.    in    Rome    under 

Severi,  149 
Revue  Chrctienne,  386, 

Historique,  151,  195 
Riehm,01d  Test.  Introduction,  13, 

Old  Test.  Theologv,  33 
Riggs,  110 

Ritschl,  Theology  of,  244 
j Ritual,  Congregational,  381 
1  Rolls  Series,  205 

I  Rome,   Ancient  in  Light  of  Dis- 
!  coveries,  Lanciani,  152, 

Religion  in  under  Severi, 
Raich,  Augustine's  Doct,  of  Cre-  Reville,  149, 

ation,  163  Society      in      under     the 

Ramsay,     Phrvgian     Antiquities.  Csesars,  Inge,  1x8 

141  V  '  Rothe,  15 

Readings     in      Church    History,  Rowland,    Paul's   Ideal    Church, 
Stone,  154  "    '     362 


INDEX. 


409 


Russia,  Cliristianity  of,  'J.'JO 
Kuth,  Jiook  of,  by  Oettli,  :?1 

Sadlek,  Epp.    to  Corintliians,  101) 
Salter,  on  P^thical  Keligion,  :J2l 

on  laiitarianism,  .'>08 
Samuel,  Books  of,  25 
Savonarola,    Life  of,   Villari,  21<S 
Schaff,  Encycl.  of  Liv.  Divines,  2(), 

Kef.  in  Gerniany,  2'21,  Prog,  of 

Kel.  Freedom.  251) 
Schepss,  on  Priscillian,  i()l 
Scheuffgen,  on  Pa}).  Schism,  198 
Schlottmann,  Old  Test.  Theology, 

3:J 
Schools,  Prot.  in  France,  228,  229 
Schools,  Eeliu".    Teaching  in,  882 


Schultz,    Old    rest.  Theology 
Scliultze,  Chr.  Art,  180,  181 
Schwarzlose,    Papal  Wealth,   176 
Scott,  Syncretism   in  Early  Chr. 

Theology,   160 
Scotland,  Hist,    of  Oath.  Church 

in,  2;5(; 


Somnier.  Apost.   Decree,  123 
Songs,  Song  of,   Oritlis,  21 
Spirit,    Holy,  Paul's  Doctrine  of, 

Gunkel,  130 
Spitta,  The  Apocalypse,  93,  94 
Stiihlin,  on  Kant,  Lotze  and  l\it- 

schl,  :{()0 
Stecdv,  Ep.  to  (ialatians.  85 
Steinmeyer,  Resurrection  of  Laz- 
arus, 106 
Stone,  Readings  in   (>.   Hist.    154 
Strack,  on  Pentateuch,  18 
Studies,  Word,  in   N.   Test.,  Yin- 
cent,  64 
Stuft',  Sermon,  McConnell,  342 
Sunday  School,    American,   Hut 
ton,  3g8 
33  Sunnliofel,  Clerical  Morals  in  M. 
Ages,  206 
Syncretism,  in  Christ.  Theology, 
■  Scott,  160 


Teachino,  The,  of  the   Apostles, 
57 


Scriptures,    Holy,   and     Negative  Teaching,    Religious  m  Schooh 


Criticism,   136 
Seeberg,  Donat.  Constant.,  193 
Sects  in  Middle  Ages,  Dollinger, 

212 
Sell,  Hist,  of  Christianity,  35, 

on  Reformation,  202 
Sermon  Stuff,  McConnell,  342 
Sermons,  Farrar,  364 
Liddon,  366 
Magee,  367, 
Manning,  369 
Shedd's  Theology,  277 
Signs  of  Promise,  Abbott,  371 
Simcox,  Language  of  New  Test., 

58 
Sisterhoods,  in  America.  395 
Smith,  on  Isaiah,  26 


382  ^ 

Temple  Order,   Prutz,  195 
Theology  of  New  Test.,  125 
Terry,  Introd.    to  Pentateuch,    12 
Testament,  New,  Canon  of,  Zahn, 
68, 
Introduction,  Dods,  66, 
Language  of,  Simcox, 

58, 
Lexicon  of,     (irimm, 

57 
Prolegomena  to,  Gre- 
gory, 63, 
Word  Studies  in,  Vin- 
cent,  64, 
Difficult  Passages  in, 
Riggs,  110 


Smith,    Moses,   Questions    of  theiTestament,  Old.  Prayer  in,  127 


Ages,  345 
Society      in      Rome     under 
C86sars,  Inge,   148 


!  Testaments,      Roth,        Thousand 
thai     Years  in.  West,  118 

'Tixeront,  Church  of  Odessa,    144 


410 


INDEX. 


Texte  u.Untersuclnmgen,  185,  186 
Thaver,  N.  '1 .  Lexicon,    58  I 

Theology,  Old  Test.,  33 
Theology,  Systematic,    Gretillat, 

290 
Thessalonians,  Epistles  to,    Klop- 

per,  89 
Thomas.  Thro'  Death  to  Life,  357 
Thought  Keligioiis,  in  Germany, 

Lichtenhergcr,  242,  j 

Theological,  in  M.  Aues,  202         | 
Thousand    Years  in   both   Tests..! 

West,  118 
Tiffany,  on  Unitarianism,  264 
Tunis,  on  Missions,  389 
Twells,  on  Preaching,  331 

Unitarianism,         in        America, 

Griffin,   2G3 
Unitarianism,      its     Origin     and 

History,  306 
Urchristenthum,  Das.,  Pfieiderer, 

77 
Usener,    Christmas,   177 

Vallinos,  Jesus,  the  Divine  Man, 

122 
Vedder,  Taxing  Churches,    398 
Vienot,  on  Protestant  Education 

386 
Yillari,  on  Savonarola,  218 
Yille,    Cirot   de   la,     Christianity 

in  Gaul,  145 
Vogelstein,  on  Priests  and  Levites, 

18 
Volck,  on  Job,  28 

Waldenses,   214,    215 


Ward,  Counter  Reform  action,   234 
Ward    and      Oxford     Movement, 

255 
Weizsacker,Ep.  of  James,  93 
Weiss,  on  Mark's  Gospel,  62,  Ep. 
of  John,93,Ep.  to  Hebrews,  112 
Wellhausen,  on  Pentateuch,  11, 16 
Wilpert,  Chr  Art,  180,  181 
Wendt,  on  Acts  of  App.,  84 
West,  the   Millennium,  118 
Westcott,  Ep.  to  Hebre\vs,92,113 
Westphal,  on  Pentateuch,   5 
Whiton,  the  Law  of  Liberty,  354 
Whither,  by  Briggs,  280  • 
Wibert,    of    Ravenna,    Kohncke, 

194 
Wiclif,    by    Poole    and    Loserth, 

218 
Witnesses  to  Christ,    Clark,    318 
Wolfflin,  184 

Wolf,  on  Reformation.  234 
Women,  in  Early    Churches,    392 
Word  Studies,  in   N.    Test.,  Vin- 
cent, 64 
Worship,  History  of,   177 
Wiirtemberg,  Conversion  of,  Bos- 
sert,  209 

Zahn,  Hist,  of  N.  Test.  Canon,  66 
Zahn   A.  on  Church  in  America, 
260, 
on  Ritschl  and  Kaftan,  250 
Zechariah,  by  Orelli,  28 
Zeitschrift   f.  Kirchengeschichte, 

176 
Zockler,  Manual,  18,  183 
Zschokke,  on  Chokma  Lit.,  53 


Princeton   Theological   Seminary   Librar 


1    1012   01245    1680 
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